I can't do it
by jadedcutie494
Summary: What happens if Alec tells Max about Manticore's plans for Eyes Only? And what if they had a baby? Complete
1. Chapter 1: 494 aka breeding partner

Disclaimer: Still not mine

A/N: HEY! I'm back!! So, here's a new story. This is not the sequel to Freedom, sorry. But hopefully it's just as good! I know the first chapter is really short, please don't shoot me! I swear the next chapter is longer… and also almost finished.

Chapter 1: 494 aka breeding partner

Max lay on her bunk, waiting for the guards to come around for lights out. This was the way it was every night. She would lay in wait, pretend to be asleep when the guards came around, then as soon as the lights went out… ah, the guards; right on schedule; _they are so predictable,_ Max thought, rolling her eyes.

'Lights out. Lights out 452.' The guard's voice came through the slots in her cell door, before the lights went out and she heard his footsteps disappear. Then she got off her bed and after securing it to the wall, took out the strip of metal, and continued her work of sawing away the cement between the bricks. She was fairly pleased with her progress; she had almost got the first brick out. It had taken long enough, she'd been at this for over two weeks, but it was tricky, what with the guards always coming around to check on them, especially her. _Untrusting bastards,_ she thought,_ although, really, they do have a good reason not to trust me, I suppose, if you want to get into the technicalities. Not that I want to._ So she kept going, until she heard the outside door open. _No, it's too early for the guards to be back. Shit, what now?_ She thought as she quickly put away her tool, and undid her bed. She had just laid down on it when her lights came on and her door slid open. She sat up and watched as.…_Ben? It can't be Ben, can it? But it is, look at him._ The door slid to a close behind him, and she moved closer to him, studying him.

'Ben?' she whispered, and watched his face take on a look of confusion, and then… understanding? No, that can't be right.

'What?' he asked and the tone of his voice told her this wasn't Ben.

'Sorry, you just…look like someone I used to know.' She told him, and he shrugged.

'Well, my designation's 494.' He told, and then she realised. _494, 493. Twins._

'His designation was 493, you must be twined.' She informed him, and the look on his face changed again. He turned and looked at her; he looked almost…_amused?_

'493? Your fellow…traitor, went psycho.' He said, his voice almost laughing. He noted as her look turned angry.

'What do you know about it?' She asked; the anger present in her tone.

'I know that because of him, I had to spend six months in psy-ops. They wanted to make sure it wasn't genetic, and they wanted to see if they could fix it, see what the difference was between us.' He told her, and she felt shock course through her body.

'Fix it? What do you mean, fix it? How could they fix it?' He voice started to rise, and he just looked at her like she was crazy. 'What do you mean fix it?'

'Fix him, you know, make him not want to kill people randomly any more. You ok?' he asked, and she took deep breaths to try and calm herself. _Ben's not dead? How can he not be dead? Unless this guy's messing with me._

'How could they fix him? He was dead.' Max said.

'Uh, I don't know what to tell you, but 493 isn't dead. In fact, I was sparring with him just this morning. He's in my unit, fit as a fiddle and no sign of insanity for the last six months.' Max just stared at, too stunned to talk. She felt faint; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. _This can't be real._ Obviously 494 noticed her reaction too, cause he started talking again. 'Hey, uh, you ok? You need to lie down or something? You look like you seen a ghost.' He said, and when she just looked at him, he took her elbow and led her over to her bunk and sat her down. _Ben so did not warn me about this happening, I'm so gonna kick his ass tomorrow. And why won't she believe that he's still alive?_ Then her walked over to the door and called for the guard. 'Hey, can we get some water in here? Thanks.' Then he walked back over to her and squatted in front of her. 'Uh, you ok? What's wrong, I would've thought you'd be happy that 493 is alive?' This got her attention.

'You're not messing with me? You're telling me the truth? Be… 493 is alive?'

'Yeah, he's alive. Why is that so hard to believe?'

'Because I killed him. I snapped his neck.'

A/N: So, what did you think? Review and maybe the next chapter will be up before the weekend. Warning: I most likely will NOT be writing on the weekend… sorry, Harry Potter. I refuse to come to school on Monday and let anyone ruin it for me. Anyway, waiting for reviews!


	2. Chapter 2: The name game

Disclaimer: I wish it were mine, but alas it is not so

A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter. Quick, huh? Um, there will be a slight break, I'm sorry, but Harry Potter's out tomorrow. And everyone should be thankful I'm loading this now, cause I'm meant to be doing my Lit assignment. Anyway, hope you enjoy

Chapter 2: The name game

'_Yeah, he's alive. Why is that so hard to believe?'_

'_Because I killed him. I snapped his neck.'_

494 looked at Max, heard the determination in her voice. But he knew that 493 wasn't dead. _What? She killed Ben? Why the hell didn't he tell me? Oh, he's a dead man when I find him, a dead man._ He was alive and kicking. _Definitely kicking,_ 494 thought as his thoughts wandered briefly to their sparring match that morning, where 493 had got in a couple of good kicks. But back to the situation at hand; the determined, slightly pale looking, definitely gorgeous woman in front of him. _He could have at least warned me before I came in here that she thought her was DEAD! I'm gonna…_ He chose his words carefully before opening his mouth again.

'Look, I don't know how else to tell you this, but… 493, he's still alive. He is in my unit, he sleeps in the cell next to mine, and he _almost_ kicked my ass this morning.' Max looked up at him, only a few of his words really registering.

'He sleeps in the cell next to yours? Where is it? I need to see him.' Her words came out in a rush as she stood up to head for the door to her cell, but she found herself blocked by 494.

'Hey, calm down there. First, he won't be in his cell right now, none of the guys in my unit are. Second, were you seriously going to try and just walk out of your cell after lights out? Do you have a death wish? Look, I'm probably not meant to tell you this yet, but what the hell, right? You'll probably get to see him soon, maybe in the next day or two.' At this, Max looked him right in the eye.

'What do you mean?' she demanded.

'It means that you're finally being put into a unit. My unit. Guess that makes me the lucky one, huh? But you can't say anything yet. I'm the only one who knows, I haven't even told the rest of the unit yet.' _I better not live to regret this. She so better not tell _anyone_ about this or I am so dead. Renfro will have my head if she finds out I told her about Ben. Shit, not good, so not good._

'I promise. Just… he's really alive? He's ok?' her voice had softened now and he could hear the slight quiver in her voice.

'He's really alive, and doing fine. No psychopathic tendencies to talk about, like I said, and he's actually a very nice guy, I like him a lot. Look, uh… to change the subject… the reason I'm here.' 494 said, with only the slightest bit of hesitancy present in his voice. Max glanced up at him, her look guarded, as though she was bracing herself for the worst.

'What is it?'

'Well, I'm your breeding partner.'

'Breeding partner? WHAT?' 494 almost winced at the pitch and volume of her voice. 'What do you mean, breeding partner?'

'Exactly what it sounds like. We've been paired off, and we're supposed to, uh, copulate every night until you get pregnant. Look, we don't have to, uh, copulate. Not everyone will, trust me. Oh, some will, but only the ones who are, ah…' he trailed off, not wanting to say too much just yet. And also he could hear the guards returning.

'What do you…?' Max too trailed off when she heard the guard approaching her cell door. She was surprised when it slid open and the guard stood on the other side of the door, holding a glass of water in his hand.

'Your water.' He said, and after a second, 494 nodded and reached out to take it.

'Thanks, she's just feeling a little off. You know, her heat is probably close' Alec said the last bit as soft as he could with the ordinary still hearing, but it still wasn't soft enough. The look of 452's face when he handed her the glass of water more than told him that he would most likely pay for that later. But for now he turned back to the guard. 'Oh, and before I forget, here you go.' 494 handed a small parcel to the guard, and received a small wad of money in return. 'Oh, and can you give these to Vic for me? Tell him he can pay me later, thanks.' 494 handed a few cigars to the guard, who nodded before he turned around and left, the door sliding closed behind him. 494 turned around to see 452 glaring at him.

'Yes? He has a thing for the vitamins they make us pop every morning, and uh, Vic likes these cigars from overseas.' When she didn't say anything, simply continued to glare at him, he cleared his throat and continued. 'And, uh, hey I'm sorry I said you were close to heat, but what was I supposed to say? We don't get sick, remember? And if I told him you had seizures, which I'm not sure you get, then they would have sent you off to med bay and, well then we would have both been in trouble.' 494 returned her stare, neither backing down for several minutes, until…

'Fine. Thankyou for not telling them I had seizures, which I have had in the past, by the way. But not for a while. And I really don't need a reason to be back in med bay any time soon, I guess. Or psy-ops.' She gave a tiny shudder, and 494 understood. 'I _definitely_ don't want to be back there any time soon.'

'I know the feeling. Anyway, I'm here for another half hour, mind if I try to sleep? Bunk or floor?' 494 asked with a grin.

'I don't sleep. You can take the bunk, I'll sit.' 452 told him, and then sat down in the corner. 494 lowered himself onto her bunk, and after a minute of fidgeting to find a comfortable position, he turned his head to study her. After a minute, she looked up at him, and cocked her head, a questioning look on her face.

'You're an odd one, you know that?' 494 told her, a grin forming on his face as she tried to hide the smile forming on her own face.

'What do you mean odd?' She asked, trying to sound menacing, but not quite managing to pull it off. The grin on 494's face just grew.

'I don't know, just odd, I guess. Can't put my finger on it just yet, but I'm sure it'll come to me.' He smirked, and this time Max couldn't help it; she smiled back. Just a small one, but a smile nonetheless. 'There we go, a smile! I knew it. I knew you had it in you.' He said triumphantly, laughing as he looked back up at the ceiling. He heard 452 sigh, and he turned back to look at her, only to see she was shaking her head slightly, the smile still on her face, but he saw her eyes were distant. 'Penny for your thoughts?'

'I was just thinking… you need a name. 494, just doesn't suit you.' She told him, and while he recognised the change in subject, he decided to let it slip, and to go with her… for now.

'A name? You mean like, Ben? Or Max?' He asked, and heard her gasp.

'He told you? Ben told you? But, what about the whole 'insubordination' thing, you didn't report him.'

'Nah, it was the fairies. Of course he told me, and of course I didn't report him. Why would I do that? And, well, I hate to disappoint a lady, but, I already have a name.'

'Really?'

'Yep, really. It's Alec. I'll even let you have three guesses as to why that's my name.' He grinned at her again, and she suddenly had a determined look on her face. _Ben was right, she is a handful. And she likes a challenge. She'll definitely fit into the unit easily, and there shouldn't be any hard feelings, they all accepted Ben after a while, and they know him now, so it should be a lot easier with Max. I hope._

'Hmm, was it cause of that really old show Alex Mack?' Max asked a grin on her face. Alec looked at her, frowning and she laughed. 'Just kidding, just kidding. I'm sure Ben would never name you after a girl who can turn into a puddle.'

'Oh no, that's definitely right. However did you guess it in one go?' Alec asked, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

'Huh, well, I was gonna keep guessing, but I guess I'm gonna have to go with; is it cause you're a SMART ALEC?' _well, well, she is the smart one, isn't she? Just like Ben said. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that she figured it out, Ben said that they tended to think alike._ A small smile formed on his lips at the thought; it would be interesting to see them together in training. He decided then and there that he would pair them up the first day of training, see how they interacted. If Ben was right about them, they would do very well as partners in their tactical 'games'.

'What's with the smile? Did I guess right, by any chance?' Max asked, a small smile of her own forming.

'Yes, but that's not the reason for the smile.' Alec told her, not bothering to explain further.

'Really? You going to explain the smile or do I have to beat it out of you?' Alec laughed at this.

'Ben was right, you are a lot like him. You both resort to violence to solve very small problems. At least with me.' Alec added, grinning when Max smiled at him.

'So… that's what you were smiling about? What else has Ben been telling you about me, and am I going to need to kick his ass too?' Max demanded, but the playful tone in her voice told Alec that she found the situation very amusing.

'Oh, look at the time! I've gotta be heading back to the barracks, but don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow night. But if I'm lucky, I might see you tomorrow.' He went over to the door, knocked, and turned around as he waited for the door to open. 'Good night, Max.'

'Good night, 494' Max said, her voice sounding just like the perfect soldier, and Alec was confused until he heard the guard behind him. He straightened, and put on his soldier mask, before he nodded to her.

'452.' Was all he said before he turned and walked out the door.

Max had been alone only for half an hour when she heard the guards returning. _Oh, for the love of god! What now? Can't they leave me alone?_ She sat up on her bed as her door slid open, to reveal Director Renfro. She immediately stood to attention.

'State your designation.'

'X5-452, ma'am' Max said, in full soldier mode now. But she was still wary; Renfro was not known for making visits to soldiers in the middle of the night, or ever, for that matter. They always went to see her, so for her to come to Max it must have been important.

'Very good, 452. I'm here to inform you that you are to be placed in a unit tomorrow. Unit 6, and you will be pleased to know that you will already have a friend in the unit. Your new CO is 494, your breeding partner, who I believe you met earlier this night. Tell me, how did it go?' _Shit, what am I supposed to tell her? Lie, that's always the best option around here._

'Copulation was successful between myself and X5-494, ma'am.' Max said, still staring at the wall in front of her.

'Very good, 452. Well, here is your new schedule; you will report to 494 at the field tomorrow morning for roll call, where you will meet you new unit. Be there 5 minutes after everyone else, so 494 has a chance to tell the unit. He has been given his orders, and is aware of yours.' Renfro said, handing Max a few papers.

'Thankyou, ma'am. I will be at the field tomorrow morning at 0805 hours, ma'am, where I will report to X5-494, my new CO as part of unit 6.' Max repeated.

'Good, well, that is all. You may return to bed now.' Renfro said before turning to walk out.

'Thankyou, ma'am.' Max whispered to herself, as the door began to close behind Renfro. _Well, Alec was right. Huh, a unit. Well, at least I won't be put with a new group every two days, I might be able to remember some designations. And Ben! I get to see Ben again. Maybe this new unit won't be as bad as the others, if they've already accepted Ben, they should accept me. And maybe Ben and I can escape together this time. _

Alec stood in front of his unit, watching them as they all stood to attention just like perfect soldiers. _And now I get to tell them that they get to welcome a new unit mate. Well, at least I know that one will be glad to see her,_ he thought as he looked at Ben. _Ah well, might as well get this over with, and at least it can't be as bad as last time. They're already used to Ben, so Max shouldn't be too hard._

'Soldiers, we have been assigned a new unit member.' Alec said, in his Commanding Officer voice, and could almost hear the groans that escaped his unit's mouths. 'Most of you have heard of her, and one of you knows her. Now, I don't want you to treat her any differently then you would normal new unit mate, and as you have all gotten to know 493, despite his being a _traitor_, you should be able to accept 452 far more easily.' He'd managed to tell them their new member's designation without simply coming out and saying it, and he heard the somewhat delayed gasps, and saw the look on Ben's face. '493, I believe you already know 452, so you will be assigned as her partner for sparring and in our exercises, at least for the next few weeks.' Alec saw the corner of Ben's lips turn up, and new that her would receive far less bruises the next time they sparred. Just then he saw Max round the corner of the housing building, and he turned back to look at his unit. 'Soldiers,' he said as Max neared them, 'please welcome your new unit member, 452.'

'Welcome to unit 6, 452.' His unit chorused, and he saw amusement dance in Max's eyes.

'452, this is unit 6. Stand forward as I say your designation. 221' a young girl, the youngest there by the looks of it, stepped forward. She had short brown hair, delicate features, and was shorter then Max. '287' a guy this time, black hair, dark skin and tall. '344' another guy, a bit shorter than Alec, light blonde hair that was slightly long, big build. '396' a tall girl, long red and startling blue eyes came forward, she was very thin, and to an untrained observer, would seem weak and helpless, but from the way she carried herself, Max could tell she would be strong. '423' a small, petite girl came forward, shoulder length black hair, green eyes and an innocence about her; she gave Max the smallest of smiles before her soldier mask was back in place. '493' Max studied Ben's face as he stepped forward, and when he looked at her briefly, she felt her heart leap when she couldn't find that cold, hard look in his eyes that had been there the last time they had met, nor the frightened look he had just before she had killed him. She swallowed down her emotions and moved her eyes to the next person in line as Alec continued calling designations. '511' Alec called, and a short guy, of Mediterranean looks, with dark skin and dark hair, stepped forward. '564' was a girl, slightly taller the then guy next to her, with short blonde hair and light skin. '581' was an extremely tall guy, who looked, at first glance, to be lanky, but was actually quite well built, with short brown hair and brown eyes and a friendly face. '663' was another girl, slender with brown skin, long strawberry blonde hair and a girl-next-door face. '690' was the last girl, again slightly shorter then Max, with short hair that was almost red. '788' was the last in line, another guy, about Max's height, with black hair, and pale skin. Max looked at the line again, each designation running through her mind as she studied each one in turn. Then she looked at Alec. 'And, of course, I'm 494. When we fall into line, you will be between 423 and 493, and I am on the other side of 493. Now, repeat the designations before the trainers arrive.' He saw her eyes narrow at him, just the slightest bit.

'221, 287, 344, 396, 423, 493, 511, 564, 581, 663, 690, 788 and 493.' Max repeated, in the same order he had used.

'Very good. Now fall into line.' Max did as she was told, stepping into the gap that had been made between 423 and Ben. 'Now, we have sparring for an hour, then weapons training. 493 and 452 will pair up for sparring, and I will pair up with 788. All other pairs remain the same. Let's move.' He said, stepping into his spot in the line before they all turned in unison and marched towards the sparring area.

'452 and 493, onto the mat. We need to get an idea of your fighting style, 452.' Alec said, once again using his CO voice. The trainers were still present for all their training sessions, but Max was surprised to see that it was Alec who controlled their training, for the most part. She stepped onto the mat and faced Ben, and she saw the challenge in his eyes, and the smile on his lips. They circled each other for a minute, then they both charged at the same time. They were a blur of kicks and punches for a few minutes, but after about 5 minutes, Max was beginning to feel the strain of fighting him. He was stronger, more disciplined…_better,_ she accepted grudgingly. He would win, this time. _But I will get better, then we'll see who'll be smiling,_ she thought as she looked up at his smirking face from her place on her back. He held out a hand to her, which she ignored, getting up herself.

'That was an ok effort for your first time, 452. You did well, but then 493 only has so much extra training on you, so we'll have to see how you do against someone who has been here longer. But for now, 493 and 494 onto the mat.' The trainer's voice carried out, and Max looked toward him and nodded. She took her place back in the line and watched as Alec stepped out onto the mat to join Ben. She watched in fascination as they fought, and she could tell that, while it seemed that Ben was holding back a bit, Alec was good. Very good, in fact. She certainly didn't want to be fighting him any time soon, at least not until she caught up a bit in her training. _What am I thinking? I'm not going to be here long enough to catch up that much, I'm out of here as soon as I can. Hopefully with Ben._ She continued to watch them move, and they went on for nearly 10 minutes, neither gaining a strong upper hand, until Alec caught Ben unaware with a move Max had never seen before. He stepped to the side, ducked and kicked out at the same time, so quickly that Ben was still aiming for the spot in front of him and didn't see the kick coming until he was on his back, pinned down by Alec.

'Very good, 494. 452, back on the mat with 494.' _Uh oh, this won't end well for me. Well, at least I can get in a few shots before he takes me down, hopefully one or two to where it'll show. Can't let him make a total fool out of me._

At dinner that night, Max was sore, to say the least. She had gotten her ass handed to her by Alec, and she had only managed to cause minimal pain to him. She was scowling at her food when Alec dropped down in front of her, and Ben next to her.

'So Maxie, what's wrong? Not fond of the peas? Or is it the stuff they try to pass off as potato?' Ben asked her, his voice light and full of laughter. She turned her glare to him, then looked at Alec, who looked back at her, then down at his own food, obviously trying to hide a smile.

'What's so funny, _Alec_? I'm probably not gonna sleep for a week now, cause of you.' Max said in a low tone. He glanced up at this, an innocent look on his face.

'Ah, but Max, I thought you didn't sleep. Shark DNA and all.' He replied, looking at Ben and smirking. She turned her head in time to see Ben duck his head, trying to hide his own smirk.

'Oh great, two of you! Wise guys, both of you. You know, I really wish I could've chosen your name.' Max informed Alec. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. 'Yeah, I think I would have named you more aptly. I would have named you Dick.' She stood, taking her tray with her. 'Guess I'll see you tonight.'

'Oh, I wouldn't miss it.' Alec told her, not bothering to hide his grin this time. She just glared at him and Ben again before turning and leaving the mess hall. Alec watched her leave, then turned back to Ben. 'Well, she certainly is a handful, isn't she?'

'Yep, that's my Maxie. I missed her, I'm glad she's back.'

'Do you really think she's gonna try and escape again?'

'Yep. I saw her life outside, Alec. They may have messed with my brain a bit, and I'm glad, I guess, but they didn't erase my memory. She had friends out there, a new family. And she doesn't like Manticore. I guess I don't really either, but it's not as bad now. Not as scary as it used to be. But I was more willing to accept being back here, I needed to be back here. Max, she doesn't want or need to be here, at least not in her eyes. If she's here long enough, I think she could settle in, get used to it and see that it's not quite as bad. But she won't want to stick around that long.'

'Yeah, maybe. Renfro had to assign me to her, didn't she? She's testing me just as much as she's testing Max.'

'Yeah. I don't envy you, mate. Not at all. If she escapes…'

'I'm the lucky guy who gets to go after her and bring her back home. She just better hope that they don't figure out who Eyes Only really is before then, otherwise…'

'You have to help her escape just so that she can infect him?'

'Yep, correct answer for 100 bucks.' Alec said dryly. 'But I gotta tell you, I think she needs to escape, if only to stop this idiot from exposing us. I don't really want to be barbequed, do you?'

'No, can't say it's on my list of things to do in life.' Ben replied, and they both laughed, glad to have moved off the subject of Max. Neither was sure how to handle her just yet. They both knew that she would escape, it was inevitable. And they both knew that it would be no easy task bringing her back. Ben had been telling the truth when he said he didn't envy Alec. He wouldn't want to be in that position, Max would hate Alec after he brought her back, he was certain of that. He just had to see to it that she forgave him. He smiled to himself. He had known those two would hit it off, he just hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Well, life had a way of surprising you like that. And who knew, maybe if Max had formed an attachment to Alec that quickly, it wouldn't take her long to form attachments to the rest of their unit. Maybe he could persuade her not to escape, or least to come back. Who knew? After everything that had happened to him, he had to hope for the best. He had decided that he had had enough darkness and loss in his life to last him forever, and he was going to do whatever he could to keep himself from going through that again.

The next night, unit 6 sat around a large camp fire, cooking pieces of meat from a deer they had caught. When Manticore said survival exercise, they meant _survival._ Besides the tents and their clothes and the basic first aid, they had nothing. No weapons, no equipment, nothing. They were out there for three days, and they were on their own. They had set up their tents before the sun had gone down; then 511 and 344 had gone out to find dinner. They had returned 20 minutes later carrying the buck between them. So now they all sat around roasting small pieces of meat.

'So 494, what are we gonna do tomorrow?' 788 asked, and Max looked across at him. In the dark, with just the fire light showing his face, he looked almost deathly, his pale skin even paler in the flickering light, dark shadows under his eyes.

'Well, I was thinking some games. I want to try out different pairings, now that 452 is in the unit, and I don't think 493 had a chance to work with everyone properly either. So I guess this is as good a time as any to figure that out. Tomorrow after breakfast we'll play a tag team game. We'll pair up, split up and hunt each other. So we'll need to evade the other pairs, last pair standing wins. Pairs will be 663 and 788, 221 and 511, 423 and 581, 287 and 690, 493 and 564, 396 and 344, and 452 with me. We'll switch partners at the end of the game and go again, with slightly different rules, but that's for tomorrow. So, 452, what does it feel like being back in a unit?' Alec asked, grinning as he looked at Max.

'Hard to say. Haven't really had enough time for it to sink in yet, give me another week. But it's definitely going to be nice not moving from unit to unit every few days. Eventually they all start to look the same, and I learnt the hard way people don't like to be called the wrong designation.' This had everyone laughing.

'Who'd you call the wrong designation?' 344 asked.

'Uh… 733.' Max said grimacing as she remembered what had happened after. She'd been in the med bay for three days.

'733? Shit, whose designation did you call him?' 396 asked, looking sympathetic to Max.

'758'

'758? I'm surprised you're still breathing. He hates 758.' 581 said.

'Yeah, I gathered that as soon as I said it. But in my defence they look similar and their designations are very close, and I was only in his unit for and hour before I said it. Well, they didn't put me back in that unit again.' Max said, starting to relax. Unit 6 wasn't so bad; she could deal with them until she escaped.

'I can imagine.' 690 said, and they all started laughing again.

'Alright, we need to get an early start tomorrow, we have a lot to get through the next three days, so it's time for… well, not lights out, I guess, cause it's already dark, but time for bed at least.'

'Sir, yes, sir.' They all chorused as they stood up and wandered off to their tents. Max entered her tent behind Ben, and kicked off her boots before settling in. She turned to look at him; she was still worried that she was going to wake up and find it was all a dream, that Ben wasn't alive. She shook her head as if to get rid of the thoughts, and Ben noticed.

'What's up Maxie?'

'I'm sure I'm gonna wake up one morning and find out it's all a dream, that you're not really here.' She whispered to him, her voice full of vulnerability.

'I'm here, Maxie, it's real. I'm not going anywhere.' He told her, and he held her just like she had held him in the forest.

'Ben… will you come with me?'

'Come with you? Maxie what…? No, you're not trying to escape, are you?' Ben asked, turning her face to look at him. 'Max…'

'What, Ben? Don't you want to escape? Do you really want to stay here, in this place? Do you really want to do what they want you to do? Do you really want to be a…'

'A what, Max?' Ben demanded, his voice becoming defensive and angry.

'Nothing' Max said as she turned her head away and tried to move from his arms.

'No, not nothing. A what, Max? A killer? Is that what you were going to say? Was it?' he demanded, and he shook her shoulders when she shook her head. 'You don't get it Max, and you never will unless you listen, but you never listen.' Ben said, anger in his voice, as he got up to leave the tent. He pulled on his boots and pushed the flap open, but before he left he turned back to look at her. 'You don't know what it's like, Max. I was a killer out there, but I'm not in here, why can't you get that?' Then he turned away and walked off towards the fire.

Alec was sitting behind their tent, on a stump, and he heard the whole conversation. He saw Ben come out of the tent and walk towards him. He waited for him to pass by him, into the woods before he got up and followed him.

'Hey' Ben slowed down at Alec's voice, and turned his head slightly.

'You know, I'm more angry about her talking about this place like it's using us to be killers then her thinking I'm a killer. I was a killer, Alec, plain and simple. But here… I mean I know that sometimes we're sent in to take someone out, but how many of them are actually dead?'

'Not many, you're right. Only the really bad guys are dead.'

'Exactly, that's what I mean. She just won't see that. Why won't she see that?'

'Cause no one's told her that Ben. You should tell her that. But if she wants to escape, she'll do it, and maybe it'll be good for her to escape. Look, you need to talk to her before she escapes, and then I'll be there once she's gone. But before she goes, we need to get her to form some attachments.'

'Yeah? You got any ideas?' Ben asked, looking sideways at Alec, who grinned at him.

'Yeah, I think I got just the thing.'

The next evening, as the sun was going down, they all sat around the fire, once again cooking bits of meat, talking about the day. They had done three exercises, and Max had gotten to work with three people.

'Ok unit, I have a… bonding exercise for us. Now, before I tell you what it is, I want to make it very clear that you do not have to partake if you don't want to, and if you don't know one will judge you for it. But there will be no talk of this outside the unit, do I make myself clear?' Alec said, the last bit in his CO voice.

'Sir yes sir' the unit chorused.

'Ok, now the exercise is quite simple and requires no moving, just thinking. Now, as you all know, when we are sent on missions, we are given names, identities. But when we come home again, we are automatically a number again, just as they want us. Well, in their old unit, 493 and 452 had names.' Alec heard Max's sharp intake of breath, and grinned. 'Now, I know some of you will think of this as insubordination, but you know what? I too have a name, and I like it, I think it suits me. My name is Alec…'

'As in smart-aleck' Ben put in.

'Yes, as in smart-aleck, and as you can see Ben named me. Ben being 493. And 452 is Max. Now, the exercise is that we are going to name each other. The other thirteen with help name each of us, with the exception of myself, Ben and Max, of course. I feel this will help us bond, but if any of you have objections, speak now and you may go back to your tent.' There was silence as Max, Ben and Alec looked around at the rest of the unit. A few, Max noted, had excited looks on their faces, while a few looked a little unsure, but Max knew that they all trusted Alec, so none of them would object if he said it was a good idea.

'Who are we going to start with, sir?' 221 asked in an eager voice, despite her obvious attempts to hide her enthusiasm.

'Well, since you seem to be one of the more… agreeable people to this exercise, let's start with you, shall we?' Alec said, and looked at the unit. 'Ok, since none of you want to start, how about you Ben? Any ideas?'

'How about…' Ben paused, trying to think of a ridiculous name that she would hate, once explained to her. 'Angelina?'

'Angelina?' Max asked, looking at him enquiringly.

'Yeah, as in the ballerina.' He told her.

'Ballerina?' 221 asked, looking almost insulted. 'I don't look like any… wait, do you mean the mouse? As in those books from the 90's? Before I beat you up, may I ask _why_ you want to name me after a mouse who does ballet?' Ben grinned.

'Well…' he started, obviously trying to choose his words carefully, 'you have a really small body and a delicate face, kinda like a ballerina would and I don't know the name of any _real_ famous ballerinas.' She simply glared at him, obviously rejecting his name. 'Ok, so I put in my suggestion, who wants to go next? 581, how about you?' Ben asked smirking, picking the very tall guy sitting opposite 221, who was also very obviously in love with her. He glared at Ben before turning to 221.

'Ok, what about Abbey?' he said, looking at her.

'Huh… Abbey. Abbey. Yeah, I like it.' She said, finally. Then she turned to the rest of the unit, who all nodded at her, and Alec noted that they had all relaxed now that someone else had been first, and then 663 turned to 581 and asked 'So, why did you pick Abbey?' He looked at her, and they all saw the flicker in his eyes before he hid it.

'Uh… well, I know she was always interested in history and old buildings and stuff, especially old churches and things, so…'

'You named me Abbey as in the buildings where monks live? Like all those ones in England and stuff?' the newly named Abbey asked him, a soft look in her eyes.

'Well, yeah, I thought it kind of suited you, in a weird way I guess. I dunno, you're the youngest in the unit, one of the youngest X5s, and you're so interested in history and old things and, well…' He trailed off, looking kind of embarrassed, and while Max thought it was cute, and funny, she also felt sorry for him, so she turned to 511, who was laughing and said 'I think it's 511's turn.' That sobered him up quickly, and he turned and glared at her.

'Hey, why me?' He asked indignantly.

'Cause I said so, that's why.' Max told him, matter of factly, and then looked at Alec, whose eyes were laughing, but he too sobered up when he noticed the look in her eyes. His own eyes narrowed slightly at her, trying to figure out what she was up to. Her eyes shifted to the left slightly, then back again. He followed her gaze to 511, then looked back at her and smiled.

'I agree with Max, I think we need to name 511. Any suggestions?' Alec asked the group.

'How bout toad?' 344 said, earning a glare and a punch in the stomach from 511. 'I'll take that as a no, then.' He said, which only served to earn him another look.

'I think I have the _perfect_ name for him.' 564 said from the other side of Max. They all turned to look at her.

'What is it?' Max asked her, seeing the sparkle in her eye.

'Biggs.' She said simply, and smiled at the puzzled looks she received from the 13 people watching her. She shrugged her shoulders and said 'you know, cause of his _big_ ego. We all know he's got the biggest ego out of _anyone_ here at Manticore.' Everyone laughed, agreeing with her, except Max, who turned to Alec.

'And here I thought no one could have an ego bigger then you, but since I trust 564, I'll just have to believe her, although I'm gonna need some proof eventually.' Alec looked at her, a look of mock hurt on his face as he put a hand over his heart.

'Ah Max, your words cut me deep.' All this managed to do was make everyone burst into laughter again. Eventually they all stopped laughing at Alec, and he turned to 511. 'So, what do you think? Biggs?'

'Yeah, I like it; despite the fact that I think there is nothing wrong with my ego.' He told them, looking at 564 as he said it. 'And I think we should name her next.'

'Ok,' she said, and then looked expectantly at the rest of them. 'So? Who's gonna name me?' she asked after a minute. Everyone was quiet for five minutes, and no one could come up with anything. Finally Max turned to her.

'What's your favourite letter?' she asked her.

'What?'

'Your favourite letter, you know, a…b…c? Which one?' 564 thought about it for a minute.

'C, definitely. Why?'

'Well, it might help us come up with a name. It's how Ben and Zach named me, remember Ben?'

'Yeah, you were a hard one. Took us almost a day, you rejected everything we gave you. So we asked her what her favourite letter was, and after she said M, we thought about words that started with M and finally settled on Max, cause we thought it suited her.' Ben told them, thinking back to that time nearly 10 years ago.

'Why Max?' Abbey asked, curious as to how they had named each other.

'Cause she always gave everything her all, her maximum effort, whether it was training or helping someone, or hating this place. It was Zach's idea; he pretty much named us all.' They were all quiet, Max and Ben remembering their unit, the others remembering their childhoods, or the different names they had had over the years.

'I've got it.' Biggs said suddenly, startling them all out of their own little reveries. They all looked expectantly at him and he smiled. 'Cece' he said, mimicking the matter of fact tone she had used when she decided his name, then he mimicked her shrug. 'She said C was her favourite letter, so… Cece.'

'Cece it is.' She said. 'Now let's do 690' she added, pointing the redhead opposite her.

'Oh, I know. She's really into like birthstones and gemstones and stuff. So we could call her Ruby or Sapphire or something.' 423 said, her enthusiasm coming through now as she was really starting to get into the naming game.

'How about Gem?' 344 asked, looking at her. She smiled, and nodded at him.

'I like it. What about you? I think you need a name now.' She smiled again, then looked at Cece. 'What do you think we should name him?'

'I don't know; he's gonna be a hard one I think. What does he do?'

'Uh, he sits around, he sleeps, cleans his knives.' Gem said, grinning. 'He's not a very interesting person, actually.' He glared at her, and she laughed. 'Just kidding, it's just when everyone else is around, you don't do much. You like to watch.'

'We call him Tom.' Alec suggested. 'You know, as in Peeping-Tom.' Everyone was laughing for nearly five minutes after this, except, of course, 344. When Alec finally came up for air and saw the look on his face, he only started laughing again. He tried to calm down, and eventually was able to speak, but still with little bursts of laughter. 'Sorry, it's just… your face… admit it… it was funny…' he trailed off, chuckling to himself. 'Ok, ok, someone else name him.'

Gem was studying him, a thoughtful look on her face. 'What about Blade? He likes knives so much, they're his weapon of choice. I think it suits him.'

'Yeah, I agree. Blade suits him.' Max said, nodding and smiling. 'So, how about 287 now?'

'Ok, I have the perfect name for him.' 396 said, grinning. 'Steve. He loves movies, especially those old ones by Spielberg, like uh… ET and… other ones. Anyway, he likes film, so I think it suits him. What do you think?' she asked looking at 287. He was smiling and he nodded.

'Who could complain about being named after one of the greatest directors of the 20th and 21st centuries?' 287 said, looking at 396. 'What about you? We need to name you now, I think.'

'Ok, name away' she said.

'How about Ariel?' 423 asked, eyes wide in excitement and eagerness. 'You look like Ariel, and you love to swim. It fits you to a T.'

'So Steve gets named after a famous director and I get named after a cartoon mermaid?' 396 asked, amused but also pleased. She liked the name, and agreed with 423; it fit her perfectly. 'I like it. So how about you now?'

'Finally! Any ideas? Anyone?' She looked around the unit, and they all studied her.

'How about Jessica?' Abbey asked after a moment. 423 thought about it for a minute, then shook her head.

'What about Kirsten?' Cece asked, and again 423 shook her head.

'Sam?' 663 asked, and once again, 423 rejected it.

'How about Sue?' Gem asked a few minutes later. 423 automatically wrinkled her nose at the idea, and 788 grinned.

'Don't worry, I got it. Honey. We'll call you Honey.' He said, as if leaving no room for disagreement.

'Yeah, you'll call me Honey.' She said, mimicking her tone. 'But why?' She asked after a minute.

'Easy. Honey is just… you.' He said after thinking about, looking straight into her eyes. She understood, and she smiled.

'Yeah, you're honey, Honey.' Biggs said, breaking the moment between them and bringing the group back to their task; they still had three people to name, and it was getting late. 'So, 788, how about we do you next?'

'Fine by me. Just… don't let Alec have any say.' He said, making them all laugh. Alec mocked a hurt look, but inside he was happy with how this was going. They were all getting into it, which was good, and Max was bonding with the unit. He looked at Ben, and the two briefly shared a knowing look about her. _This might work after all. Maybe she won't escape._

'Hmm… you're easy. I knew what we were gonna call you about a minute after Alec told us what we were doing.' Honey said, her soft voice drifting through the air, gaining everyone's attention. She had a knack for that; getting everyone's attention, as well as solving problems or breaking up fights. Something in her voice just drew people in, like flies to… well, honey. She smiled at the thought; the name really did sum her up. 'Well, if we named Steve after a famous director and Ariel after a cartoon, I'm naming you after a dead guy.' She told him, and he looked like she had gone momentarily crazy.

'A dead guy? That's all you're giving me? I mean, I got no problem being named after a dead guy, Steven Spielberg's probably dead, but aren't you gonna tell me my name?' He whined.

'Fine. It's Drac.' She said, then looked at Max, who had a look of curiosity on her face, then shrugged. 'As in Dracula, the famous vampire. You got the whole dark hair, pale skin, mysterious thing going for you. People notice you, but you also blend into the background if you want to, just like Dracula. Plus, I think it's a cool name.' His eyes had narrowed slightly when she'd described his hair and skin, but they returned to normal as he decided on the name. While everyone was staring at him, he finally nodded his approval. 'Excellent choice, Drac. Now, let's move on to 581, and hope he's easier then some of us, cause I'm tired.'

'Anyone a basketball fan?' Abbey asked, and they all looked at her as if to say, _what the hell does basketball have to do with anything?_ She smiled at their confused faces, then turned to 581. 'I'll take that as a no, then, shall I? Well, I think we should call him Jordan. Need an explanation, look it up.'

'Ok then, I like it.' Jordan said, understanding why she had chosen the name for him.

'Which leaves lucky last, 663. What will name you.' Ben drawled, laughter shinning in his eyes. He knew what they should call her, but he'd let someone else start the suggestions.

'What about Jessica?' Honey asked, and 663 gave her a look.

'Ok, I know it's late and I'm the last one, but seriously? You're using your reject names on me? I am insulted.' She said, trying to look indignant, but failing.

'Ok, ok, sorry. Ooh, I got another one; how about Rose?' Honey asked, and earned a shake of the head for her efforts.

'I don't want to be named after a flower. Next?' She asked, looking around the group. Her eyes landed on Ben's and held his gaze for a second, before she moved on. 'No one? Come one, you all managed to name everyone else, what about me? What about you Ben? You seem to be good at the naming game, where are your suggestions?' She asked accusingly, but with no real anger in her voice, although her eyes became stormy when he merely smirked at her. She opened her mouth to say something when he cut her off.

'Ok, don't worry. No need to overreact, I have just the name for you.' He said, then stoped. The unit looked at him expectantly, but he just sat there for a minute, letting it draw out as long as possible. He was enjoying this; he always had fun making 663 angry. Finally, when she was all but throwing daggers with her eyes, feigned a look of innocence and said 'Oh, are you all waiting to hear her new name? I'm sorry. It's Sash.'

'Sash?' Max asked.

'Yep, Sash. To remind us all that she's number one.' He told her, receiving a few knowing _ohs_ from the group. 'In one of her assignments she had to enter a beauty pageant and she came first.' He explained to Max, before turning back to 663. 'So, what do you think? Like my choice?' She didn't answer straight away, but he could see in her eyes that she liked it, but because she was angry she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd chosen a name for her that she loved. Eventually, she settled for a brief nod of assent before she rose from her spot beside the fire.

'Well, I had lots of fun today, and naming everyone was a great way to pass the time, but I'm going to head to bed now. Good night.' She said, slipping once again into 663, and saluting Alec before she turned in the direction of their tent.

Slowly, one by one they all followed suit until it was just Ben, Max and Alec sitting by the fire.

'Well, that went pretty well, didn't it?' Ben said after a while, looking at Alec. Another quick look passed between them before Alec grinned.

'I think it went very well. Everyone seemed to have fun, and no one reacted badly, which is a plus. We definitely don't need to worry about Renfro finding out, and they'll all enjoy having their own names now. And I personally learnt a lot about the unit tonight.'

'What do you mean?' Max asked, curious.

'Well, I just think that tonight's exercise showed a side of some of these people that I've never seen before, and it was very… illuminating.' He decided finally, for lack of a better word. _Yes, very… illuminating. So Abbey and Jordan, huh? And Biggs and Cece? Should've known, always fighting. And Ben's got a thing for Sash. I'll have to keep that piece of information for later,_ he thought, a slight smirk playing across his lips, before the object of his thoughts stood up from beside him.

'Well, I'm gonna follow suit and head to bed. Don't you two crazy kids do anything I wouldn't do.' He told them before he walked away.

'So, did you enjoy the exercise?' Alec asked Max after a minute of semi-awkward silence. She glance at him, then smiled.

'Yeah, it was interesting, to say the least. I learnt a lot about everyone, stuff I probably wouldn't have noticed for a while. And can I just add; Honey and Drac? Never in a million years would I have guessed those two.'

'Oh yeah, they're the oldest couple in the unit. Been together almost two years now, I think. Ariel and Steve were next, and Gem and Blade got together soon after that. Now, Biggs and Cece, and Abbey and Jordan I didn't know about until tonight.' He told her, and she mocked surprise.

'What? The great Alec didn't know something about his unit?' He glared at her.

'Hey, I had my suspicions, they just weren't confirmed until tonight. But the most important thing I learnt tonight was…'

'…Ben is into Sash? She finished for him, and they looked at each other and laughed. _Yeah, maybe this will work out,_ Alec thought again, just as Max thought _I can't get too close to him… I mean them. In two weeks, hopefully, I'll be out of here._

A/N: So?? PLEASE REVIEW!!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to chapter 1!! Hope you liked chapter two!


	3. Chapter 3: Obeying Orders

Disclaimer: Look, I hate to admit it, but no, I don't own it.

A/N: well, not as long as I thought it would be. But I only really wrote this in the last 24 hours, I didn't even turn on my computer on the weekend. Hope you like it. Oh, and I hope people don't think I'm too rude about Logan, but I couldn't help it.

Chapter 3: Obeying Orders

Three days later Alec walked into Renfro's office after being summoned out of dinner. He stood to attention, waiting for Renfro to talk. He began to get slightly nervous when she didn't talk for a few minutes.

'State your designation.' She said, surprising him. She rarely asked him that question; she only did it to test loyalty in defiant soldiers, or at random to try and catch soldiers out.

'X5-494, ma'am.' He said automatically, not hesitating despite his confusion.

'At ease, soldier. Now, I have called you in here to discuss your breeding partner, X5-452. Has she settled into your unit well?'

'Yes ma'am, I believe the survival exercise was crucial in help 452 become an accepted member of the unit. I tested her out with different partners in exercises, to see how well she worked with everyone.'

'And? How did she operate in the group?'

'Very well, ma'am. She worked particularly well with 423, 564 and 788 as well as 493, which was expected, I believe, given their history.'

'Excellent. How close do 452 and 493 seem to you?'

'They know each other very well and work efficiently together. They can read each other and make a very powerful team.' He answered.

'Yes, but how do they interact with each other outside of training? Are there any signs of them being especially close, perhaps a romantic link?' Renfro asked.

'No ma'am, there has been no indication that their relationship goes deeper then friendship. They have a deep affection towards each other, as most of that unit did, but I believe that they see each other as having a brother-sister relationship.'

'Of course they do. Now, I believe you've heard of Eyes Only?' Again, her question confused Alec, as did her sudden change of topic, but answered straight away, as was ingrained in him.

'Yes ma'am. He runs cable hacks about corrupt people in America, and operates from somewhere in Seattle, although his hacks have never been traced.'

'Yes, well, lately he's been causing trouble for us; it seems he is determined to reveal our location. And it would seem that he knew 452, may have had some sort of a relationship with her. Well, we have discovered his identity and he is to be eliminated within the week. I will be sending 344; he will receive mission details soon. Now, you are not to discuss this with anyone or tell any of your unit, especially 452, do you understand? If she learns of this, she will try to save him, let him reveal our location.'

'Yes ma'am.'

'Very good. You know that if 452 escapes, you will be sent to retrieve her. Make sure that doesn't happen.'

'Yes ma'am.'

'Be warned, if Eyes Only reveals our location, I will lock down the barracks and I burn this place to the ground. Now, I would rather not do that, but if it comes to it, all I need is a few disks with all the data we've accumulated, and I can start over. Do you understand?'

'Yes ma'am' Alec said once again, his throat going dry at the thought of Renfro's threat coming true. _She would do it, too. Shit, why did I have to get 452? 'Because you are the only soldier suited to the job' _he thought, his mind remembering the day Renfro had given him his assignment.

'Very well then, dismissed.' She said before turning her attention back to the papers on her desk.

Max's cell door swung open right on cue. She smiled as Alec walked through, but it faded as she noticed he lacked his usual ­­­­smirk. She watched him, waiting for the door to close. He was avoiding her gaze, looking anywhere but here.

'Alec?' she said his name, but still he didn't look at her. She waited another minute before frustration took over. 'Alec, look at me. What's wrong?' She demanded, and she finally seemed to get his attention. She allowed her self a quick, self-satisfied smile before her face became serious again.

'What? Nothing, nothing's wrong. What would be wrong? You, uh, you haven't seen 344 since dinner have you?'

'No, he got called to Renfro's office just after you. What, is she making her way through the unit? Does she think we got up to something naughty on the survival exercise? I mean, besides naming ourselves, of course.' She asked, laughing. Then she saw the look in his eyes, despite his attempts to keep his face devoid of emotions. _That's the problem with this place; everyone shuts off their emotions, and you never have any idea what anyone is thinking. Bloody soldier's mask,_ Max thought in frustration. It was going to be a long night, she could tell. 'Look, whatever happened, just tell me, it can't be that bad.' He didn't say anything, and they both sat there in silence for a few minutes.

'Max, were you involved with Eyes Only on the outside?' He asked suddenly, shocking Max almost as much as his question did.

'Who told you that? What do you care, it's not like it's any of you business anyway.' She snapped. _Whoa, way over defensive Max? He just asked a simple question, why are you jumping down his throat? Maybe it's cause you haven't thought of Logan for nearly a week?_

'Hey, just answer the question will you?' Alec snapped straight back in defence, trying to hide his shock at her response. But he already knew the answer; she had been, that's why she was so defensive. But he needed to hear it for her, needed her to confirm it.

'Yeah, I knew him, why? Oh god, what's Manticore gonna do to him? How'd they find him?' Max's questions came out in a rush, and she felt a sense of dread and guilt. If Manticore were going after Logan, it must be because he was causing problems for them, and if he was doing that it was because of her.

'They traced his hack.' Alec said, avoiding her first question deliberately.

'But, no one can trace his hack and if they were he'd know about it and divert it.' Max blurted out, not really thinking.

'Max, this is Manticore. Not only do they have some of the smartest scientist in the world, they have us. Besides the X-series who are trained soldiers, and also excel in electronics and computers and the like, they have a whole team trained especially for using computers and hacking and everything that comes with it. If they wanted to be untraceable, they would be. No offence to this Eyes Only guy, but we're the best of the best of the best here.'

'Yeah, I know. Now, you didn't answer my other question; what are they gonna do to him?' she demanded again, and got angry when he looked away again. 'Stop doing that! Stop avoiding me Alec, answer the damn question. Just cause you don't seem to understand what it's like to have actual friends that you don't want to die, doesn't mean you can drop this on me and then not tell me what they're going to do to him.' Max spat at him, not noticing the change in his eyes.

'_Have you been briefed on your target X-494?'_

'_Yes sir'_

'_Don't you like me?'_

'_I like you. I like you a lot.'_

'_I love you… your hands are shaking.'_

'_They are?'_

'_Are you alright?'_

'_Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just happy.'_

'_Eliminate the target tomorrow… take them both out.'_

'_RACHEL!'_

'Alec? ALEC' Max's voice pulled Alec back to the present, and after a moment, once he was sure he had his emotions under control, he turned back to her.

'What?'

'Please, tell me what they're going to do to him.'

'They're sending Blade to kill him. I can make sure that doesn't happen, but you need to stop him from revealing our location. I'll help you get out of here, get back to him. Once you've escaped, I'll be the one sent to retrieve you, so you don't need to worry about anyone else finding out. It'll just be me, you and Blade. We'll figure out what to tell Manticore later. But you need to get out of here tomorrow, before they send out Blade.'

'When's he going?'

'I don't know, before the end of the week.' He stood, and turned to face the wall. This was not what he had planned to happen when he walked through her door tonight, but there you go.

'Alec?' He heard Max's soft voice from behind him, and turned around. He saw the sadness, hope and… confusion, in her eyes.

'Yeah?' he asked her.

'Why are you helping me escape? I mean, I thought the whole idea of putting me in a unit was to get me to stay, and giving me a breeding partner at nights? Now you're helping me escape? What if they find out? You'll get punished.'

'Not if we work this right. You're right; the whole idea of involving you with other soldiers was to get you to want to stay. And yeah, I would get punished if they found out, but let's just say that I know how you feel about wanting to save this guys, and leave it at the, ok? Oh, and I'm not doing this for nothing, just so you know.' Max cocked her head and narrowed her eyes slightly.

'What do you want?' she asked, her voice low.

'Once this is over, and we've saved your guy, you come back with me and Blade, no fuss.' Alec didn't miss the look in her eyes. 'You know, this place, it's not as bad as it seems. Yeah, the people who run it are assholes, and they send us to take out people, but you know, despite what the records say, not all of them are dead. Only the people who truly deserved it, like the killers or the paedophiles or rapists, and trust me, we've had quite a few of those. But the rest of them? They're alive and kicking, out of the country with their families, courtesy of us. We just forget to mention that in our reports to Manticore.' He heard Max's gasp of surprise, and grinned. 'I'm telling the truth, just so you know. Ask Ben if you want.' She shook her slightly, eyes looking down.

'No, I believe you. I might not have a month ago, even a week ago, but I do know. I promise, I'll come back with you after it's over. I couldn't just leave Ben and the rest of the unit like that, anyway. But can we tell them all before, so that none of them think I'm just deserting them all again?' He heard the vulnerability in her voice, and his expression softened.

'Sure, we'll tell them tomorrow, when the guards sneak off for their cigarette break.' He told her, and she looked up and smiled. He couldn't help but smile back. _No, this certainly wasn't what I was planning to happen tonight, but it's not too bad. At least she said she'd come back quietly, looks like she's bonded with the unit. Huh, guess I owe Ben twenty bucks. Oh well, it was worth it. Besides, I'll get him back… hmm, Sash. That'll get him good. Maybe Max can help._

The next night, minutes after Alec had left her cell, Max jimmied her door open, and slid out. It was surprisingly easy, she thought; Alec had shown her how to do it using a piece of metal from the underside of her bunk; all you had to do was stick into the gap between the front of the door and the wall and press on the pressure point, then slide it open. She and Alec had told the unit that morning during training what was going down, and they had wished them all luck. Blade had told her afterwards that he hadn't planned on following through with killing Logan if he could help it, cause he knew that he wasn't a bad guy, that he did a lot of good. That had boosted her spirits about tonight's escape. And now that it was all starting, she felt excitement. Phase one was in motion. Alec had arranged for a fight to go down in the male wing of the barracks, which would require the attention of many guards, so most of the guards from the female wing would go down, leaving only a few behind for Max to take out. She came to the end of the corridor and saw only two guards at the station. _I guess the fight's on,_ she thought with a smile before she blurred up behind the two guards and dropped them on the floor within a matter of seconds.

She looked at their monitors and saw a mass of limbs on the screen for the male's wing, and smiled again. She saw Alec slip out unnoticed and head towards the exit of the building. She turned and did the same. They met at the edge of the buildings, and, looking in different directions, noted the locations of the X7s on perimeter watch.

'I've got five on this side, what about you?' Alec whispered, turning back to Max.

'Same. Straight ahead, there's only three.'

'Ok, head up that way. You can take them, just watch out for their guns and tasers, they're quick. I'll hang back; make sure they don't get you. I'll take them out if they get too close, but you should be fine. Just don't take your time and get out of there before the others come.' Alec gave her one last long look, before they nodded to each other. She blurred off, keeping out of the line of sight of the X7s until the last moment. She took out the first two easily, but he noticed as she fought the last one that the others were starting to move towards their location. _Shit, come on Max, get out of there._ As soon as the thought formed, he watched as she got hold of the kid's taser and turned it on him. He dropped to the ground after a few seconds, and she wasted no time in getting out of there. She was gone into the trees by the time the others arrived. He turned and watched two of the three guards at the fence head off in that direction as well. _Good, that only leaves one for her._ After another minute, he saw he come blurring out of the forest towards the X7. He raised his gun, but she started zigzagging, making it harder for him to get a shot. When she was about a meter away from him, she jumped, clearing the fence by about half a meter. The kid, instead of turning to hit her when she landed, followed her path through the air with his gun, only turning as she landed. _Big mistake kid._ She hit the ground running, again zigzagging, and he missed his chance to get a shot. _And she's gone. This time tomorrow I'll be in Seattle with Blade._ He knew that as soon as Renfro discovered she was gone, not only would he be sent to bring her back, Blade would be sent on his mission to eliminate Eyes Only.

Not wasting any more time, Alec turned and headed back to the barracks. He noticed that the fight was going on as he slipped back in, unnoticed. Ben, who was of the X5s fighting, caught his glance after a moment, and within a manner of seconds, the fight was over. Alec tried to suppress a grin as the guards looked around as they all headed back to their cells with no word; no doubt they were trying to figure out what was going on. They wouldn't discover Max was missing until much later, he figured. Not until the guards went back to the female wing. He walked into his cell and lay on his bunk to try and get some sleep before the guards came for him. He knew that three cells down, Blade would be doing the same. Now, it was time to wait.

Max was running as fast as she could for almost an hour before she let up. Finally, she slowed her pace to that of an ordinary human. Even if they knew she was gone, it would still take them time to get a team ready, and then they had to figure out which way she'd gone and head out… she figured she had a pretty good head start on them. But she didn't stop; she kept running, running until in the distance she saw it. Her high place, the place to which she had been running. The Space Needle. She was almost there; she just needed to run a little bit further, a little bit faster. Seeing the Space Needle spurred her on. But she knew she wasn't there to stay, and although the thought made her sad, because she wanted to see her friends again, to hug Original Cindy, she knew she couldn't. But she wasn't exactly sad about going back to Manticore, not when it meant going back to her new unit. Thinking about her new unit gave her pleasure, and it was really weird to have thoughts of Manticore linked with happiness. As she ran, she thought about what Alec had told about Manticore. '_…despite what the records say, not all of them are dead. Only the people who truly deserved it, like the killers or the paedophiles or rapists… the rest of them? They're alive and kicking, out of the country with their families, courtesy of us. We just forget to mention that in our reports to Manticore.'_ It had shocked her, but thinking about it, it made sense. None of the soldiers she had met, with a few exceptions, had seemed like hard cold-blooded killers, none of them bragged about their kills and no one seemed to relish being given assignments.

So, while she was running to save Logan's life, she was also trying to save hers. She knew that Manticore wouldn't take their location being revealed sitting down, they would not only hit back at Logan, but they would need to cover up. And Max had an idea of what that would entail… not simply packing them up and moving them, no that would be the humane way to do it. No, Manticore would want to destroy all evidence, including their prized soldiers. She knew that if their location was revealed, they would most likely terminate the site and destroy it… her and her fellow soldiers along with it. So she needed to stop Logan, and then Alec and Blade would get him out, which she knew would be the most difficult part. Logan would not want to give up just because someone was after him. _He's so bloody difficult, _she thought, surprising herself. She usually didn't have those kinds of thoughts concerning Logan. _Well, times are changing,_ she thought and smiled. She looked around her in surprise, and she stopped short when she realised she was back. She had made it to Seattle, and without realising it, she was at her old apartment block. She looked up, found her apartment and made out the shape of Original Cindy walking around, no doubt getting ready for bed. She sighed; she wanted to go up, to tell her she was fine and that she would be back, but she knew if she went up, she wouldn't be able to leave again. But it was all good, because she knew that this return to Manticore wouldn't be permanent. She would get out eventually; it would just take a while. With one last look at her apartment, she turned and began to slowly make her way to Logan's. She had agreed to not make contact with him until Alec and Blade had arrived, so she had a few hours, at least, to kill.

Alec lay on his bunk, waiting. Finally, about three hours later, they came for them. 'X5-494 and X5-344.' He stood and knew that three doors down Blade was doing the same. He watched his door slide open and then he stepped out. _Showtime,_ he thought as he fell into step next to Blade.

Two hours later he and Blade sat in the back seat of a black Sedan, moving towards Seattle. They had been briefed and equipped in record time, showing them just how important 452 and Eyes Only were. They were to be dropped off on the outskirts of Seattle and would make their way to Fogle Towers, the location of Eyes Only, and from there would each undergo their own missions. They had been on the move for just under an hour, and the Space Needle had just come into view. 10 minutes later, Alec turned to Blade, and they nodded to each other as they stepped from the van. They both knew that this would be far more difficult then any of their previous missions, especially if what Max had told him was true; it didn't sound like this Logan person would be very willing to listen to him or Blade and get out of the country, so the best they could hope for would be faking his disappearance and convincing him to shut down his operation, at least for a while, and to definitely leave Manticore alone. Of all these things, Max had said that the last one would most likely be the easiest. Alec almost sighed as he and Blade set of together into Seattle. Within 15 minutes they were coming up the street on which Fogle Towers sat. Alec looked around for Max, and finally spotted her on the roof of a nearby building, which was much lower then those surrounding his, looking towards Fogle Towers, a sad look on her face. _She misses him,_ he thought and almost felt guilty for forcing her back to Manticore, but knew that part of her wanted to come back, at least for the unit, so he buried those feelings, and turned to point her out to Blade.

Max sat in the same position watching Logan through the windows of his penthouse apartment for nearly three hours. He was in there with some blonde. After the initial shock and the tiniest surge of jealousy, Max had felt almost _relieved_ to know that he hadn't been waiting and pining for her. She felt a twinge of guilt when she remembered how little she had thought about him, especially in the last few weeks. _Since I met Alec… the unit, I mean._ She quickly glanced down to scan the street for Alec and Blade, as she had been doing every half hour or so, and after noting they weren't there, continued her watch on Logan. _When did everything get so screwed up? All I wanted was a quiet, normal life, but no… I had to break into his place, didn't I? And then I got conned into doing his missions, but he never really managed to find much on my family, only Ben, really._ She felt her heart pull as she thought of Ben; she'd been wracked with guilt for months after that day in the woods, in fact she hadn't really gotten over it until she had seen Ben, until he had told her it was fine, that she was forgiven. Once he'd forgiven her, she'd been able to forgive herself, slowly. She could feel tears starting to form as she thought of Ben, who she thought she'd lost, and of Brin, and then of Tinga and Zack, who she knew, were dead. She held back the tears, and brushed away the single drop that had escaped, before she looked down again. This time she saw Alec and Blade looking up at her, and she stood. _Showtime,_ she thought.

She met up with them as she came out of the building. She avoided direct eye contact with either of them, she didn't want them knowing that she'd been crying. She lifted her arm and pointed to Logan's apartment.

'That's his place, second top floor. I think I should go in first, give me about 5 minutes, then you two come in after me, ok? I just don't think he'll handle it if all three of us barge in there at once, especially since I'm supposed to be dead, and I'm pretty sure he knows what Ben looks like, and well, all he knows about Ben is that he was a killer, so you get the picture?' She finally looked Alec in the eye; sure she had her emotions under control once again.

'Yeah, we'll be up in 5 minutes, no weapons present, I swear.' He grinned at her as he said this, and she couldn't help but smile back.

'Not even a knife for Blade? That's kind of rude, don't you think?' She asked him in a totally serious voice, which could have worked if not for the smile forming on her lips before she saluted him and walked away. Alec shook his head and looked at Blade, who was obviously trying to suppress a grin.

'What did I ever do to deserve such an insubordinate unit?' He asked, mainly to himself, as he looked up to the heavens.

'I believe it was the acts of insubordination by yourself, sir' Blade said in his best soldier voice, as he stood to attention and saluted him, managing to keep a serious face until he looked at Alec, when he burst into laughter, who was glaring and mumbling something about not being appreciated enough, which only caused Blade to laugh harder.

Max grew increasingly nervous as she rode the elevator up to the level the penthouse was situated. _What the hell am I going to tell him? Sorry you thought I was dead for five months? Sorry, but I'm only here to stop you from doing your Eyes Only hack and to tell you that you can't do any more for a while. Sorry I don't love you any more... whoa! Back up, where did _that_ come from? Maybe I took one too many kicks to the head from Ben yesterday in training?_ She shook her head, as if that would clear, then felt her muscles contract as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open, revealing Logan's door. She took a deep breath, and then forced herself to step out. She walked straight towards the door, not allowing herself to stop and knock, simply entered as she used to. She walked straight through to the main room where Logan's equipment was set up, and where he would no doubtedly be tapping away at a keyboard.

She came round the corner, and sure enough, there he was; sitting at his computer, that blonde bending over his shoulder looking at whatever it was on the screen that he was so excited about. She was about to make her presence known when he started talking excitedly.

'This is Manticore's Wyoming facility. It's gotta be, requisitions don't add up other wise.' He said to the woman, who nodded slowly. 'If I can follow the money, I can find the main facility.'

'Logan, how many jobs do you think we've done for Eyes Only in the past few years?' the blonde asked him, and he barely glanced at her.

'I don't know, why?' he asked distractedly, still looking at the computer screen.

'I've just never seen you get so caught up in an assignment before' she told him and this time he looked at her.

'It's not an assignment. Eyes Only is taking on Manticore as a favour to me.' He told her before returning to his papers.

'You're messing with some powerful people. They play rough.'

'I don't care what happens to me.' He told her, and Max took this as her cue to come in.

'Logan.' She said, making her voice loud enough for his ordinary hearing to pick up. She stepped into the room, and saw him look up in slow motion, saw the looks of disbelief, hurt, surprise and finally joy cross his face. He stood up and raced towards her.

'Max? What? How are you…? You escaped again?' he asked, taking her hand and going to pull her into his arms. She pulled back just after his lips touched her own, and pushed away from him.

'Logan, listen to me. You can't broadcast our location; you have to stop trying to find Manticore. You just need to leave us alone.' She told him, and he stared at her like she had sprouted an extra head.

'What? But Max isn't this what you want? You're out, I'm gonna take Manticore down… you'll be free.' Logan said, confused.

'No, you can't do it. You need to stop, stop it all. They're trying to kill you Logan, in fact there is a soldier downstairs right now, whose orders are to terminate you, and another to bring me back. With their help we can fake your death, pretend like they both succeeded in their missions, but you need to stop.'

'What are you talking about? There's a person downstairs who's meant to kill me? And you just walked past them? And stop what?'

'Stop being Eyes Only, Logan. I know you're trying to do what's right and help people, but it's going to get you killed. You need to go into hiding, at least for a while. And please, whatever you do, don't broadcast our location.' Max pleaded with her, but he still didn't seem to understand.

Just at that moment, his apartment door opened. Only Max heard it swing open and softly click shut. Only Max heard the two sets of feet move through the apartment, and then she sensed them behind her. She saw the look on Logan's face, and guessed that he had seen Alec.

'Logan, wait. Just calm down, ok? These are the two guys I told you about. That's Alec' she told him, indicating to her left, where she knew Alec stood, 'and that's Blade' she indicated her right this time. 'They're here to help.' He seemed to be unable to respond for almost a full minute. And the first words out of his mouth when he opened them were not welcomed.

'Max, you led these two killers into my home, when they've been given orders to kill me? Max, I know he's your brother, but don't you remember what he _did_?' Logan's voice was so full of disgust that Max, and Alec and Blade, had to suppress the strong urge to punch him.

'They're not killers Logan. And that's not Ben, it's Alec, like I told you. Not that it would make much of a difference. They're not here to kill you Logan; they're here to _help_ you. They're experts at this kind of thing.'

'What kind of thing?' he asked cautiously, trying to not to say the wrong thing.

'Faking someone's death. They do it all the time, when they're ordered to kill someone who doesn't deserve it. Like you.'

'I'm not going to fake my own death, Max, and leave all the people who depend on me…' he was cut off by Alec.

'Oh, screw them man. Can't you understand what's going to happen to you or to us? We don't get you; they'll send someone else, someone who's willing to do the job. Or, you do your hack and they lock us down and burn us all to the ground and start up somewhere else, then send some after you. Is that what you want? Either way, your hurting Max. You die, she won't be able to live with the guilt, or you get her killed. So you make your choice, but remember that it's not just your life, or those of the strangers you seem so set on helping, it's all of us as well, and it's Max.' Alec was standing an inch from Logan when he finished, then he turned away angrily and stalked from the room. He'd heard Blade's sharp intake of breath, and Max's nearly stifled gasp, when he'd announced what happened to them if he revealed their location, but he didn't care. All that mattered was keeping his friends, his family, safe. _What an IDIOT! How could Max ever have like someone like that? How can she still like him?_

He heard Max enter the room behind him a few minutes later, heard the door close with a soft click. He didn't turn, but waited where he stood. He could hear her moving slowly towards him, and soon she was right behind him. He felt her arms come around his waist, and he let her turn him around to face her. When he finally looked down at her, he saw concern, appreciation and admiration in her eyes.

'Thankyou. I mean… it's just… was that true? What you said about them burning us, I mean?' She swallowed, waiting for his answer.

'Yeah, it's true. Renfro told me. The way she said it, there was absolutely no feeling there. I mean, I guess I didn't expect that they loved us or anything, I'm not that naïve, but I just didn't think they'd burn us all to the ground, you know?' She nodded, understanding. 'Anyway, hopefully if that guy's as smart as you claim then he won't run the hack and he'll let us help him. Come on, we've got a job to do.' He said, taking her hand and leading her out of the room.

Logan glanced up as they came back into the room, and could barely control his anger and jealousy. _What's going on? Who does he think he is, holding her hand like that? This is all going wrong! She's supposed to be with me. This isn't right! And she's talking like she's going back to Manticore with them, like she only escaped to stop me._ He glared at Alec, then turned to Max and his expression softened, which didn't go unnoticed by either of them. Alec slowly let go of Max's hand, and she turned to look at him as he did so.

'So, first thing's first, we're gonna need to make it convincing that we tried to kill you. I don't think we need to fake your death, we just need to convince them that you've gone. Blade, we'll stage a fight, we'll need to maybe have a bit of your blood, some of his, and evidence that he's packed up and left. Maybe we go for the whole Max got here just before you and they were getting him out when you arrived, you two fought until I got here? What do you think Max?' he asked, ignoring Logan's indignant 'hey'. Max thought about it for a minute, then slowly nodded her head in agreement.

'I think that'll be the best way, cause I'm guessing that they wanted a body for this one?' She looked at Blade, who nodded.

'Good. Just so you know, you'll probably get at least a week's isolation for this, if not more.' He told Max, and she looked straight into his eyes.

'I know, I knew that when I left, but what can I do? I'm not gonna have any more death's on me, so, yeah.'

'Ok, let's get to work. But first, who is that?' he asked, indicating the blonde who was sitting there watching the whole thing.

'Oh, that's Asha, she helps Eyes Only' Logan told them. 'Uh, Asha, this is Max, she's one of the ones who escaped in '09. Well, I guess I'll be away for a while, and well, I guess you've realised that I'm Eyes Only. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it's just, the less people who know the better, you know? Anyway, thanks for everything you and the S1W have done.' Logan said, and Alec almost gagged. He looked at Blade, and the unspoken words between them were clear; _is this guy for real?_

'Yeah, well, if you ever start up again, or you need a friend, you know where to find me.' She said, standing up and making her way to the door. She stopped and turned back. 'Oh, it was nice to meet you, Max, and you two.' She said, indicating Alec and Blade, before she walked out the door.

'Ok, well that was borderline awkward. Max, you help Logan get together whatever he needs and Blade and I'll start on the fight. But you two will probably have to fight a bit, and I'm sorry Blade, but you're going to have to let her win. Oh, and I'm gonna have to fight you a little too, Max, but sorry, I'm gonna have to win that one.' He added, grinning at her.

'Don't worry, I'll go easy on you so you can win.' She told him, flashing a smile at his scowl before she headed off with Logan. Alec shook his head, then turned to Blade.

Alec and Blade were almost ready for the blood and to fight, when they heard a noise behind them. They turned to see Logan standing there, holding a gun. They stiffened imperceptibly.

'I don't trust you,' he began, 'and I know Max seems to, but she hates that place, so the fact that she seems to be thinking about going back with you two makes me think that they something to her mind, like they did with Zack.'

'Dude, are you joking?' Alec asked, cutting in over Logan's speech. 'First, you really think you could shoot us? I could probably snap your neck before that bullet made it to where I'm standing. Blade here could put a knife in you heart just as quick. Second, you think Max is brainwashed? If she was brainwashed and was a good little soldier, do you think she'd be here with us trying to save you? And third, you think Max is gonna take kindly to you holding a gun to us?' he asked, just as he heard Max leaving Logan's room.

'You think Max would take kindly to you or _Blade_ killing me?' Logan sneered, before moving on without waiting for a response. 'Max hates that place and there is no way she would ever willingly go back there, so you've got to be holding something over her. And trying to make her fight you? Saying Blade will go easy on her, but you will have to win? What kind of animal are you? You're no better then your twin. Now, I want you two out of my apartment.' Logan finished, waving his gun towards the door, just as Max came around the corner. She stopped at the sight of Logan with a gun in his hand.

'Oh my god! Logan! What are you doing? Why have you got a gun? Were you going to try and shoot them, are you really that dumb?' She practically screamed at him. That distraction was all Alec needed; he blurred over to Logan and took the gun from him, emptied it and threw it away before the older man could register what happened. Alec thought he should consider himself lucky that was all he did; the comment about Ben had almost been too much for him.

'Max, this isn't you. You would never want to back there, they've done something, or they're threatening you. But you don't have to go back there with them.' Logan said from his spot on the floor, and Alec was ashamed to call him a guy; he was pathetic, and from the look on Max's face, she was now realising a similar thing.

'Not me? You obviously don't know me at all Logan, cause if you did, you wouldn't have been holding a gun on my CO and unit mate, now would you? Get up and finish packing so we can get this over with.' She told him and kept her eye on him until he was out of the room, then listened to him enter his bedroom. Then she turned to Blade, ready to fight. Blade's eyes widened just a little, realising that he was going to be on the receiving end of her anger. But he got into fight stance all the same, and in a matter of seconds the two transgenics were a blur of kicks and punches.

Alec watched Max and Blade fighting with amusement on his face; he had never seen them fight, and it was interesting as they both had very different styles. Max charged head first, trying to get as many hits in as possible anywhere she could, while Blade dodged and chose his hits methodically. Unfortunately for Blade, this tactic was not working as it usually did, since Max seemed to be relentless in her attack. He could see Blade was beginning to tire and knew that he would have to end the fight soon.

He gave them another minute before he finally stepped in, putting himself between them, intercepting Max's next kick, which got him lower in the leg as he was taller then Blade. Max paused for a fraction of a second when she realised she was now fighting Alec, but then continued with almost a renewed strength. Alec didn't hold back, blocking every one of her shots, while managing to get in some of his own. Eventually he could feel

Max beginning to tire, and after she threw her leg out at him, he grabbed it, flipping her onto the floor before pinning her down.

'Sorry Max, told you I wasn't going to hold out on you.' He grinned down into her flushed, scowling face. She obviously wasn't accustomed to losing, which made it all the more funny. They looked at each other, neither noticing that Logan was standing there watching them. He had been there since just after Alec had stepped in to fight Max, had seen Alec hit Max and then throw her to the ground. Now he was sitting on her, grinning at her. _It's all wrong,_ he thought.

Alec stood up, and held out his hand to Max, who took it grudgingly. Alec had to stop himself from laughing at her expression. 'Sorry Max, but I am one of the best and I do have an extra ten years training on you, so don't feel too bad.'

'Oh don't worry. We'll do this again once we're back at Manticore, and this time I won't hold back on you, and I won't just have been fighting someone else. Then we'll see who end up on top of who.' She almost bit her tongue, knowing how her words must have sounded, and by the look on Alec's face, he knew too. But he didn't say anything, for which she was grateful, although the smug look on his face had her itching to wipe it off.

'Of course we'll do this again Max. But for now, we just need a little of Logan's blood, cause I think some of Blade's and possibly yours, is already here. Would you do the honours?' he asked Max, as Blade handed him one of his knives. It was just a small one, but he Logan's intake of breath at the site of it, and Max obviously heard it too, as they both looked at him as she took the small knife from him.

'Don't worry Logan, I'm an expert at using one of these things, you'll barely feel it. Now, stand in the middle of the room, hmm. If I were Blade where would I strike first?' She asked out loud, then looked to Blade, who indicated the arm. 'Ah, of course, that would slow down most ordinaries, wouldn't it? They wouldn't want to use their arm if it's wounded. Ok, here goes. Just close your eyes, it'll be over in a second.' She saw Logan's eyes close, then lifted the weapon and quickly brought it down, creating a small gash on his right arm, that still managed to get a decent splatter of blood. Then she threw the knife away, as it might have once she had jumped on Blade. Logan opened his eyes to see Blade picking up the weapon, and wiping away Max's fingerprints and covering it with his own.

'That's all?' he asked in disbelief. True, he'd felt the knife, but had been expecting more.

'Yep, that's all. What did you think I was going to do? Now, where's the first aid kit again?' She asked, and he pointed towards the bathroom. 'Ok, go with Blade, he's the best field medic here.' When he hesitated, she gave him a small shove. 'Go'

When she was alone with Alec, she let out a small sigh, and surveyed the room. 'So, you think this will be enough for them?'

'Well, I think the blood and the missing clothes and papers will encourage them that he fled for his life, and I think you did a pretty good job on Blade, and I got a few hits to you as well, and they probably wouldn't expect there to be many more if you were taking on both of us, so I don't see why they won't believe us. And if they chuck Blade and me in Psy-ops, well let's just say that we both know how to lie to the best of them, unless they set Mia or one of them on us. But they probably won't.' He said casually, although from the dark flicker that passed through his eyes, Max knew that he'd been in Psy-ops multiple times before; _probably because of us, when we escaped,_ she thought now. It had never occurred to them when they escaped what would happen to the others they left behind when they ran, but now that it did, she understood why they all resented her for being an '09er. To those they left behind, especially their twins, she thought, it would have seemed like they were selfish, and that they had just got out of there when it got too rough, without thinking about the consequences for the others. _Not to mention that Manticore seems to have trained them that we're the enemy,_ she thought, smiling ruefully. She didn't notice that Alec too was caught up in his own thoughts.

When Logan and Blade entered the room a few minutes later, both Max and Alec were standing exactly where they had left them, staring off into nothing. Blade knew the look in Alec's eyes, had seen it there less and less over the last two years since his failed mission, but knew that that was the only memory that got that look. He cleared his throat, and both of them turned to look at him.

'So, uh, we're all ready to go here. I got rid of all the files on his computers after he downloaded all the ones he needed, and I trashed them. Shame, it's a waste of perfectly good equipment, but what can you do? Anyway, his new identity is ready for him, and everything here looks good, so we probably need to be heading back to Manticore soon, or they'll get suspicious and send someone after us.' He finished, and took one last look around the room. Alec nodded, and stepped forward to take some of Logan's luggage.

'We'll drop you off at the safe location, they'll take care of you from there.' He told Logan, who nodded without really hearing him, as he was too busy staring Max, who was currently staring at Alec. Now it was Alec's time to clear his throat. Max seemed to snap out of it, and looked at Logan briefly before returning her attention to Alec. 'So, we'll be at the meeting point for Logan in about 20 minutes, then we'll get back to the edge of the city and let them know we're ready to be picked up. When they get there, Max you'll pretend to be half unconscious, and Blade is obviously wounded. Agreed?' Alec said, his CO voice coming back, causing an automatic response from both Max and Blade.

'Yes sir!' they said in unison, then Max cringed and looked at Blade, who chuckled.

'Ah well, no matter how far we get from Manticore or how much we hate them, some things just stick.' He told her, then lifted his shoulder in a shrug. 'What are you gonna do about it?'

Alec sighed, looking from one to the other, then lifted his eyes heaven-ward again. 'Seriously? Was I that terrible in a past life or something?' he asked, and Blade laughed while Logan and Max both looked at him strangely, not understanding. Max shook her head, then they all picked up a piece of luggage and headed out. Max was the last one out, and she took one final look at the apartment before she closed the door for the last time. That part of her life was over now.

45 minutes later, the three of them sat at the edge of Seattle, waiting for their convoy to arrive. Max was sitting on the ground, prepared to look unconscious as soon as they came into sight, and Blade sat next to her, looking the worse for the wear after their fight. Alec grinned at the sight, as he stood keeping watch. Max caught him, and smiled back; she had to admit, they were good. Real good. If she hadn't been there when they set up the scene back at Logan's, she probably would have believed that there had been a fight. She thought about Logan, and was surprised to find that she didn't feel sad, even at the prospect of never seeing him again. That probably had to do with the way he'd acted. She still couldn't believe that he'd done that, she wouldn't believe it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. He knew how much she hated guns, and then to turn them on her friends? That was inexcusable in her book, and while she didn't want to part on bad terms, he was the one who had put them in that situation, so he really only had himself to blame. She shook her head slightly, and instead put her thoughts on what would happen on her return to Manticore, but she didn't have much time to ponder her fate.

She saw Alec stiffen, and motion with his hands; _they're coming._ She lay down and closed her eyes, slowed her breathing down. She heard the car pull up next to them, heard a door open, and then heard a voice that surprised her. 'Isolation, 452'

A/N: so what did you think? Please review! I'm not gonna boycott the next chapter until I get reviews, but still. The story line, the writing? Good/bad? Just let me know!


	4. Chapter 4: Mission Copulate?

A/N: sorry it took sooo long, I had things that needed attention, but hope you like the chapter. It's a wee bit random, but I needed it to get to where the story is going, so I hope you like it

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Chapter 4: Mission… copulate?

'Hey, Maxie, long time no sex, huh?' Alec asked, grinning as he sat down beside Max at breakfast. She glared at him, and then hit his arm. 'Hey, what was that for?' Alec asked, as he looked down at his arm then back to Max. She lent towards him so no one would hear what she said; she knew most of the unit would know that they didn't sleep together and that he was joking, but that didn't mean he could say things like that. And she definitely wasn't blushing.

'Hey, just because we report in the mornings that we did it, doesn't mean you always need to go around announcing it to the world, especially since it's not true' she told him, and when he laughed she hit him again, this time a little harder. 'You're such an ass, you know that? Why do I talk to you?' She asked him, a completely serious look on her face.

'Hmm… cause you love me and can't imagine you life without me?' he asked, a hopeful, puppy dog look on his face, which was soon replaced with a grin as he laughed at the look on her face. 'Just kidding, Max. I don't know; why do you put up with me?'

'I have no idea. I mean, you have the biggest ego in the WORLD, you're an ass, you're way too cocky and…' _completely gorgeous! Uh oh, where'd that come from Max?_

'Ok, we get the picture. Gee, Max, I never knew you thought so highly of me.' Alec joked, grinning, but Max was _almost_ sure that she saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes, but she ignored it with a simple shrug, sure she had imagined it; _he knows I'm kidding, not that my words could ever hurt him anyway, it'd take a bulldozer to break through _that_ barricade._

'Whatever. Anyway, where have you been the last week?' She asked, sending him a curious look before looking back down at her plate.

'Why Maxie, you miss me?' Alec asked, grinning. She threw him a quick look of disgust before answering.

'Nah, it was just weird to be able to have actual normal conversations during training and meals and stuff. And it was oddly quiet, you know, peaceful.' Max responded, sending him a grin of her own.

'Ha ha, you're oh so funny, Maxie.' Alec told her as he stood up. 'You definitely must be the person who's kept this unit from ripping each others throats out all these years… oh no, wait, that was me. This unit just wouldn't function without me, admit it Max. They need me…' he bent down so his lips were against her ear 'you need me'. Max barely suppressed the shiver his voice sent through her, and immediately dismissed it as the crappy heating in the dining hall.

'In your dreams, Alec' she shot back, and he winked at her.

'You would know' was all he said before he picked up his tray and walked away, and even though Max could only see his back, she could tell he was grinning, and she couldn't help herself; a tiny smile of her own formed on her lips as she watched him go.

That day, Alec decided to mix and match the sparring partners; because, he told them, they were all getting too used to their partners and they needed to be able to beat whatever was thrown at them. And while deciding new partners, he had also apparently decided to make the pairs one girl and one guy each, and Max also noted that each pair was also a couple, or at least well on their way to being a couple, which had her and Alec as partners. Which was how she came to be standing on the mat opposite him, waiting for him to finish surveying the others so that they could spar. She thought about why he had paired up all the couples, and had decided that it made good sense, at least in Manticore's way of thinking; he was testing them all, seeing if they could put their relationships second to being the perfect soldier. She watched her unit with a mixture of amusement and aversion; she was amused as she watched the girls attack their partners, especially once they had realised the guys were holding back on them, and aversion that Alec was testing them this way.

'I'm doing this to protect them, you know, not for some sick weird, I dunno, Manticore thing or whatever.' She heard Alec's voice in her ear, and almost jumped when she realised he was standing right behind her. He elaborated when he saw her confused look. 'I do this every now and then to make sure Manticore don't get too suspicious, and I always do different pairings, mix it up for a few weeks before they go back to their usual partners. It satisfies Manticore, everyone fights with everyone else, so they don't get stuck in a rut and it kicks the guys back to reality when they realise that the girls can in fact look after themselves.' He grinned as he said this last bit and Max couldn't help but return the look. 'So, shall we?' he asked, indicating their mat as he stepped back onto it. He thought saw something flash in Max's eyes before she joined him on the mat, but it was gone so quickly that he just put to a trick of the light. They both crouched into their fight stances, and after a few seconds Max went at him. Alec waited for her to come to him, and just as she kicked out her leg towards him, he grabbed it and flipped her onto her back on the ground before pinning her down. The drop had winded her, so Max was slightly out of breath as Alec knelt above her, looking down with an amused look on his face. 'See, told you I would still beat you.' He told her, laughing; but he stopped laughing when he saw her smile at him, and it was then that he realised the hand on his arm wasn't trying to push him off, it was caressing him.

'Of course you beat me, Alec. You're so big and strong.' Max said her voice low and sultry. Alec's eyes widened as her words registered; _what is going on here? Is she trying to distract me? That would definitely be something Max would do, but she sounds weird._

'What are you talking about Max? Trying to distract me so you can win, huh? Not gonna work, I'm not so easily distracted.' He told her, shaking his head, but his whole body froze when he felt her breath on his ear, quickly followed by her tongue. It took him all of about five seconds to snap back to reality; when he did, he jumped up so quickly that he even startled the pair closest to him; Drac and Honey. 'Shit!' his exclamation got the attention of the entire unit, and as they looked towards him and Max, he was already picking Max up. 'Sash, you're in charge till I get back.'

Alec was nearly ten meters away before anyone reacted. 'Hey! Where're you going Alec?' Ben called out, and Alec turned around, just as Max stuck her tongue back in his ear.

'She's in heat; I need to get her back to her cell now.' Alec snapped urgently, jerking his head away from Max's probing tongue, and shook it slightly, and all the males recognised it; he was trying to fight the urges he would undoubtedly be feeling from the pheromones Max would be giving off. They saw him take a deep breath, and the girls all looked stunned as he turned and started running for the building.

'What's he doing?' Sash demanded, turning to Ben, a mixture of astonishment and anger look on her face. 'He knows he won't be able to resist her for very long, not the time it'll take to get her to her cell and get her in there. She'll kill him if…'

'He won't let anything happen, he can control himself better then anyone here, you should know that Sash' Biggs said, interrupting her rant, and a slight blush crept across her cheeks before she looked down at the ground. It was gone when she raised her head again a few seconds later.

'Biggs' right, Alec will handle it. Now, let's get back to training Soldiers!' She ordered, and they hastened to get back to their sparring. None of them wanted to cross Sash; they had all witnessed her temper before and a couple had even been on the receiving end. Ben, however, had only seen the surface of her temper, and so when she turned back to start fighting him, he simply stood there, arms crossed, looking at her. 'What?' she asked her voice low.

'What was Biggs talking about?' Ben asked his voice low too, but laced with anger.

'Something that happened a long time ago, it's none of your business' she snapped at him before she flew at him, punching and kicking every part she could. He didn't understand, but he responded, and fought her hard and without resistance, just like she needed, but they both knew he wouldn't forget; they were just putting it off.

Alec ran through the main doors of the wing that housed their cells, and he called out to the guards as he passed. 'I need you to open the door to 452's cell now! She's in heat.' He heard the guard rush to the panel, and saw the door slide open ahead of him.

'Good idea, going back to my cell, Alec. That way no one can interrupt us.' Max whispered in his ear as he slowed down. She slid out of his arms, and reached her hands up to link behind his neck. She pressed her lips to his ear and planted a soft kiss before continuing. 'Now come on, we don't want to waste any time, do we?' And with that she moved her lips down his face to finally rest on his lips.

Alec felt like he'd been hit by something electric, it was the strangest feeling he'd ever felt. He was a goner from the second her lips had touched his, and his brain had shut down. He pulled her closer so her body was moulded to his, and he pushed his tongue between her lips. He backed her up to the wall beside her cell, and as he searched her mouth, his hands roamed her body. He was lost in her; he didn't even register the guards approaching them until he heard Max moan his name. That brought him crashing back down to reality, and his eyes snapped open. He finally noticed the guards approaching them, and quickly looked back at Max, assessing the situation. He kissed Max, and slowly started to move her towards the entrance to her cell, while he lifted his eyes and caught the gaze of the guard closest to him. He slid his hand up Max's back so it was resting near the side of her head, and he signalled to the guard. When the guard nodded his head and signalled for his men to move back, Alec moved Max towards her cell. 'Come on Maxie, we need to get into your cell before anyone sees.' He whispered in her ear, and he heard her soft murmur of agreement as they moved together. He pushed her back into her cell and over to her bunk. He kissed her hard, then pulled back and moved slowly towards the door. She started to protest, and he put a finger to her lips. 'Just hang on a sec; I just gotta get the door closed. Don't go anywhere.' He told her, and she let out a mix between a laugh and a giggle. That got him, he turned and blurred out of there so fast he almost hit the wall opposite.

He heard the door shut behind him, followed by Max hitting it and calling out to him. He turned towards the guard's station, and walked quickly down the corridor. He nodded to the guards, and they all got the message loud and clear; no one goes near that cell except me. The guards knew Alec, and most of them liked him, so they wouldn't cross him; so they ignored the banging, and continued about their normal duties, until the noise subsided.

As soon as Alec stepped outside the building, he took a huge breath and stood there for a minute, his mind reeling. _I kissed Max!! MAX! Max was moaning my name!! She's going to KILL me!! Who cares? You kissed Max! Oh, shut up!_ He closed his eyes and tried to empty his mind, and when that failed he simply tried to ignore the thoughts as he made his way back to the training grounds. _Maybe a good fight will get my mind of that kiss… yeah right, like anything could._

6 hours and a very cold shower later Alec was lying on his bunk trying to sleep. No, that wasn't true; he was simply trying to do anything but think of Max, who would be lying in her own cell in the other wing. It wasn't really that far away, and he could barely resist the thoughts of going over there. He really should, considering their assignment… _no! Don't even go there._ He was still trying to get his thoughts onto a new topic when Ben stepped through his open door.

'Hey, can we talk?'

Max was lying on her bunk, her head tossing from side to side. She couldn't get that kiss out of her mind; she'd never imagined a kiss could make her feel that much. She couldn't remember a time she'd ever felt like that, and it was only a kiss. This thought brought on images of what could've happened if Alec had stayed in her cell, and this occupied her mind for a while before she started thinking about why he hadn't stayed, and how maybe their kiss was just another notch. This of course led her thoughts back to their kiss and started the vicious cycle once again. It had been like that for hours now, and she was going out of her mind. Every time she'd heard a noise, she'd jumped up to look out the bars and see if it was Alec, coming back to her, but it never was. So this time, when she heard footsteps approaching, she didn't bother to stand up. Not even when they came to a stop outside her door.

'Max?' she heard Sash's voice through the door, and still didn't bother to move. 'It's me, Sash. I just came to see how you were coping. I know it might seem hard, but it's just the first two days you need to worry about, then at least they'll be able to open the doors and let us girls in. And I know you must feel like Alec abandoned you or something, or that he rejected you, but trust me, once this is over, you'll thank him for it. Besides, I can tell he really likes you, and for him to say no to you took all the will power in the world. And I know, right now you're wishing he didn't say no, and how can he like you if he said no, but trust me, it only proves how much he cares about you. Just trust me when I say it's easier for him to say no when it's someone he doesn't care about, or isn't attracted to. I've seen lots of girls throw themselves at him, some in heat and some not, and I was one of them. Heat induced, by the way. And he's discouraged them all; with a lot less effort I might add. I think I was one of the harder ones, and I'm the only one from the unit, cause all the others have someone else. Any way, at the time I thought it was because I repulsed him or something, but later he told me that he knew it was only the heat, and he didn't want to take advantage of me, or ruin our relationship with something both of us would regret later. I thought that was hard for him to do, until I saw him this morning. I've never seen him go like that. You should see Steve and Jordan, even Ben. Not that they care, but it was amazing. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that it's nothing personal, and that he does like. Just hang in there, it'll be over soon.'

Max lay on her bunk, listening to Sash's footsteps getting softer as she moved away down the hall. She thought about everything that she had heard, but in her heat induced state, it made no sense. She buried her face in her pillow and tried not to think about what she'd done to send Alec away. All she knew was it was going to be a long three days.

'Hey, can we talk?' Alec looked up at Ben, and nodded, indicating for him to sit down. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both uncomfortable without noise.

'So, got anything in particular you wanna talk about or should I just start making suggestions?' When Ben didn't answer, Alec started rambling. 'So, I got sent to isolation for a week cause I've failed to get Max pregnant, isn't that nice? So I'll probably get sent to isolation again for failing to sleep with her when she's in heat. And she kissed me, so I'm probably dead anyway. But in my defence, it was all her heat…'

'Alec, this morning after you left with Max, Sash was really angry with you. She said something like you wouldn't be able to control yourself, and that Max would hate you afterwards. But then Biggs said something… he said that you can control yourself better then anyone here and that Sash should know that better then anyone.' Ben felt Alec stiffen slightly beside him, and turned to look at him for the first time. 'So, you know what they were talking about. Care to enlighten me?'

'Have you asked Sash about it?'

'Yeah, but all she said was it was something that happened a long time ago and that it wasn't my business.' Ben told him, and Alec sighed. _Trust Sash, I think she's got more trust issues than Max._

'Well she's right abut the first thing; it did happen a long time ago, but I think you've got a right to know. Especially since…' Alec trailed off, grinning at Ben, who narrowed his eyes.

'Especially since what?'

'Oh, nothing. Anyway, so you want to know what happened? A few years ago, just when the girls started going into heat, Sash was the first in our unit. We were in the rec room when it started, we were fighting about something, when suddenly she… changed, I guess. And it came on really quickly and before I realised, half the guys were punching each other trying to get to her. I was closest, so she started grabbing for me, trying to get my attention. I didn't really think, I guess, I just picked her up and headed towards my cell. It was closest, and all the way there she was whispering in my ear, kissing my face. Well, it was easy to get her into my cell, just like I got Max into hers this morning, but unlike Max, it was much easier to leave again. Needless to say I didn't sleep in my cell for a few days. I bunked in the empty cell, now yours. After it was over, and she was let out she didn't look at me for days. I think she felt rejected. She thought the reason I could resist her that well was because I felt nothing for her, that she repulsed me or something. Well, I finally managed to corner her about a week and a half later to talk to her. So now she knows that the more I care about someone, the easier it is for me to say no.'

'She still felt rejected after her heat was over?' Ben asked, and Alec turned to look at him, confused for about a second.

'I think she kinda had a crush on me back then, but after that it died down. She was actually more relieved than I was that nothing happened, I think. Anyway, she doesn't like to be reminded of that. She's like Max in that way, I don't think either of them like heat. But then, neither of them have had a heat with another X5 before. Sash has always been alone, and Max… well Max has probably only had ordinaries.' Both Ben and Alec laughed at that; they were both aware that ordinaries couldn't keep up with transgenics, and if Max had been in heat, she would _definitely_ been left unsatisfied. 'Anyway, you have nothing to worry about. None of the guys, in our unit at least, have touched anyone else's girl.' Alec told him.

'What do you mean someone else's girl?'

'Nothing, nothing. Why don't you just run along and find Sash, huh?' Alec said, and after Ben glared at him he stood up and walked out, but he stopped at the door and looked back.

'You know, if the guys don't touch someone else's girl, well, they _definitely_ won't be touching Max.' And he walked out leaving Alec confused and wondering what he meant.

The last three days had been living hell for Max. She had had almost no contact with anyone outside her cell, not since the first day the guard had tried to bring her food and she'd reached out an arm through the bars of her cell door and… well, it hadn't ended too well, for either of them. And since then Sash had been the one to bring her food, but she didn't hang around any longer, since Max wasn't very talkative. But it was over, she was going back to training today, and she couldn't be happier; except for the fact that she had to see Alec. She was sure that he would have told everyone by know that she had kissed him, thrown herself at him. And in front of the guards, too. She cringed inwardly remembering it. _Not going to let him get to me though._ She lifted her chin and walked out of her cell for the first time in three days. She turned and walked down the hall, looking straight ahead and ignoring the looks from the guards. The rest of her unit was already outside training, it was almost lunchtime but she still had to report to Alec outside on the training ground.

She came around the corner and was greeted by the sight of Alec and Sash sparring on the mats, surrounded by the rest of their unit. They were both excellent fighters, two of the best, but she could tell that Alec held the upper hand, and even as she thought it, he pinned Sash down, winning the fight. The male members of their unit cheered, until they caught the glares on the faces of the females. But Sash, lying on the ground, breathing heavily, was smiling as she accepted Alec's hand up.

'Well, it's good to know not all the men here are afraid of hurting us.' She commented, throwing a knowing look to the rest of the men, a couple of who looked away.

'Yeah, well, what can I say? I'd prefer to kick your ass then let you win and have you come after me later.' Alec said, with a grin, which grew as he sensed Max coming up behind him. He turned, and sure enough, there she was, making her way across to them from the barracks. '452, good to see you back with us. I gather everything's back to normal, then?' Alec said, and saw a brief flicker of confusion cover her face at the sound of her designation, then as her eyes flickered to the side, a look of understanding, then a slight trace of anger and… embarrassment? _Huh, embarrassed, is she? I bet she came out here expecting me to make her look like an idiot, and as fun as that might be…_ Alec's thoughts were interrupted by Max's voice.

'It's good to be back, sir. Everything is fine, sir, nothing a few days of isolation couldn't overcome. I'm looking forward to getting back to training.' Max said as she came to a stop in front of Alec, using her best soldier voice and even saluting him.

'Excellent.' Alec said as his lips curled into a smirk. 'Unit, dismissed for lunch. Except you, 452, I'd like a word with you first.' He commanded, and waited as the rest of the unit walked towards the dinning hall. And out of the corner of his eye, he saw the guard that had been watching Max's return turn and walk back into the barracks. They were alone now, but still neither of them talked. They simply stood there looking at each other, neither blinking, neither wanting to be the one to look away. Finally Max couldn't stand the silence.

'So, you wanted to talk?' she asked, and Alec raised an eyebrow in response.

'I just wanted to see how you were doing, isolation usually isn't much fun… and being in heat… well, I can imagine.'

'You've been sent to isolation? You, the perfect soldier?' Max joked, sounding incredulous at the idea, but her laughter died as she saw the pain and grief flash briefly through his eyes.

'Well, even the best have weaknesses, don't they?' Alec asked, his voice barely above a whisper, and to Max it seemed as though he said it more to himself then to her. But when he looked back at her, his eyes were full of mischief once more. 'Anyway, where did you think I was for the past week?'

'You were in isolation? Why?' Max asked, once again sounding incredulous.

'Well… cause of you.'

'Me? What'd I do?'

'Not so much what you did, or what I did, more what I haven't done.' When she still looked confused, he elaborated. 'You're lack of pregnancy despite being in the program for, what? Nearly three months? And now…'

'Now what?'

'Well, let's just say that I might not be at training for a week or so.'

'Why? What could you possibly have done to get sent to isolation again?'

'Well, see, once again it's not what I've _done_ as much as what I didn't do. Namely, take advantage of your heat instead of locking you up in your cell, alone. Especially since I am well aware that X5s in heat are almost five times more likely to get pregnant during heat.'

'What? They're going to throw you in isolation because you locked me up when I was in heat? They want the males taking advantage of the females in heat?' Max asked, her anger growing as her voice got louder.

'No, not generally, but in this case… well, we are breeding partners, so to them it's odd that I didn't take advantage of your heat.' Alec told her in an almost condescending voice, and she raised her eyebrows slightly at his tone. 'Oh, come on, you're telling me you can't see their side of it?'

'Well… I guess, but it doesn't mean I have to agree with it, now does it?' she continued before he could answer 'I still say this whole breeding partner thing's sick, though.' As she was saying this, she was suddenly struck with a horrible thought. 'Oh my god! What did everyone do? I mean, most of the unit's already in couples, and I'm guessing other units are the same, but… Manticore doesn't know that, so what did they do when they were assigned breeding partners?' Alec couldn't resist, he laughed at her look of horror, and it earned him a glare, not that that stopped him.

'Don't worry, all the couples, with a few exceptions, were paired off anyway. Seems Manticore saw the couples that worked well together, in most cases, anyway.' Alec told her, still laughing.

'Who got mixed up?' Max asked, now seeing the funny side of the situation, although still not able to block the part that told her it was sick.

'Ah… that would be Biggs and Abbey, and Jordan and Cece.' He told her, his laughter coming out stronger as he remembered the looks on Biggs and Jordan's faces the night they'd been given their orders.

'Oh god,' she said, seeing the look on his face, 'what did they do?'

'They got… very territorial, to put it mildly. Although afterwards, neither of them could figure out exactly why they'd been that bent out of shape about it. I mean, it's not like either of them would have done anything, and Abbey and Cece' cells are right next to each other, so it would be easy to switch without the guards noticing. But you know, as you would put it, men' Max couldn't help herself, she grinned at his comment, though she knew she should be angry at him mocking her.

'Yeah, well, I tried to tell you that I'm always right, but would you listen?'

'Nup' he answered for her before she had the chance to do so herself. 'But then, that's why you love me, right Maxie?' he whispered the last bit conspiratorially in her ear before he straightened again. 'I hope everything's cleared up now, 452. Let's get to lunch.' Max could tell by his use of her designation, and his voice, that the guards were close, so she saluted him and gave her very best 'Yes, sir!' before turning towards the dining hall, walking just a bit behind him, as he was her CO and Manticore etiquette demanded it.

They entered the dining hall, and collected their lunch, although in Max's mind, it could hardly be called lunch. On one side there was a small heap of most likely cold vegetables, some beans and carrots mostly. And on the other side, a pile of some sort of meat, drowned in what smelled like gravy; also most likely cold, and probably overdone, too. _For all the money this place gets, you'd at least think they could spring for some actual food, but apparently feeding us real food isn't high on their list of priorities._

She and Alec reached the table where the rest of their unit sat, and joined them. Sash, who was sitting next to Max, leaned forward, as if trying to keep her words from Alec despite his excellent hearing, and said 'So, what did our fearless CO want with you?' Max grinned.

'Oh, nothing.'

A few days later, their unit was called into one of the meeting rooms, and they were all surprised to see Renfro sitting there, waiting for them. Max turned her head to Ben, and saw her own look of confusion mirrored in his face, and beside him Alec's lips twitched down, the only sign he gave of being confused. _Perfect soldier, as always when Renfro's around. Shit! Renfro_. Max quickly brought her head back around to face forward, hoping Renfro wouldn't call her on it, if she'd seen it, which she undoubtedly would have. Renfro surveyed the line in front of her as she sat at, a thick folder on the table beside her. There was silence for a few minutes, but if any of her soldiers were uncomfortable or confused, they didn't let it show, except for the brief look shared by 452 and 493. She pursed her lips slightly at this, and then calmed herself with the thought that it was partially this relationship keeping 452 here, with them, instead of running. Finally, she started.

'Well, as most of you know, being called to one of these rooms means a mission. And you would be correct. This mission will not be an easy one, hence the reason you're all here. This is going to be a team effort, and will take the combined skills of your unit. Unfortunately, you will be minus three members, who have successfully fulfilled the mission of the Breeding Program. We have received the reports from the last check up; 396, 564 and 690 you will remain behind as you are now pregnant, and we will need to monitor the progress of the babies until they are fit to be transferred to a surrogate in about a month's time, if that is possible. You are dismissed back to your cells.' She waited as the three women left the line and filed out the door, as always the perfect soldiers; hiding their feelings, whatever they may be. After the door shut behind them, Renfro turned back to the rest of the unit.

'The rest of you will not participate in the Breeding Program while on the outside, we can't risk you falling pregnant while deployed, but rest assured you will start up again you're your return to the facility. Like I said, this mission is not going to be an easy one; it will require lots of team work and cooperation. I know you have recently had two new additions, and you may think another unit would be better suited to the job, but I need the best on this, and your unit remains the best. Now, this folder contains all the information you will need to know, and I expect you all to know it by tomorrow morning. You will be deployed at 0700 hours. You must know your target better than his own mother, do I make myself clear?'

'Yes, ma'am' the unit chorused, in perfect unison, of course.

'Very good. I'll leave you now, to your reading.' She rose from her chair, and walked to the door, the unit parting to let her through. Just as she reached the door, she turned back to them. 'I'll tell you one last time; failure on this mission is _not an option_. You will not return here until he is dead, do I make myself clear?'

'Yes, ma'am!' she nodded, then turned and left the room, leaving a very confused unit in her wake. Once the door shut behind them, Alec stepped forward and picked up the folder, flipping it open to read the first page.

'So who wants to know who Ames White is and why Renfro wants him dead so badly?'


	5. Chapter 5: Bad Memories

Disclaimer: I still don't own it!!

A/N: sorry it took so long! Here's the next chapter, it's a little shorter, but the next one will be heaps longer, don't worry. And I have holidays soon, so I _should_ be able to write more.

Chapter 5: Bad Memories

'Anyone know who Ames White is and why Renfro wants him dead so badly?' Alec asked, turning around with the thick folder in his hands. He looked up, and all he received were blank looks and a few shrugs. 'Well, let's see; he's 36, married to one… Wendy Olsen and they have a son, Ray White. Here's a picture, don't they just look like one big happy family?' he asked sarcastically, handing it to Max. The photo showed the three person family, and at first glance they looked happy; the son on the father's shoulders, holding a hand out to his mother. But at closer look, the father had his arms wrapped too tightly around his son's legs, and the arm was _reaching_ to his mother, who was standing apart from her husband. _This dude just _looks_ evil, his son looks terrified, not to mention his wife._

The whole unit had similar thoughts as they passed the photo around, each memorising their target and his family. 'He works for the FBI, by the looks of things, fairly high up, and looky-here, it seems he's been digging into project Manticore in recent years; doesn't seem like he's a fan of us, guys, so I guess walking up to him and announcing Manticore sent us probably isn't going to go too well, and he's not likely to disappear. Guess he's gonna have to be taken out, as per Renfro's orders.' Alec said, looking up as he said the last bit, refusing to catch Max's eye.

'Let's just hope he deserves it' Honey said, voicing what everyone was thinking. 'So, where are we heading?'

'Looks like it's gonna be a short trip, guys, Mr White and Co recently relocated to Seattle, Washington.' Alec told them, as they all moved forward to sit around the table. As Max and Ben walked past, he whispered under his breath 'looks like we're going home'. Ben seemed to understand, but when Max shot him a questioning look, he just shook his head and tilted it to Alec, indicating she'd need to bring it up with Alec. _Great, just what I need. More secrets to solve with Alec._

'So…. How long's the drive to Seattle?' Drac asked as they sat, squashed together, in the back of a van, waiting to leave the facility. He looked around at Alec and Max, who both looked at each other quickly, before looking away just as quickly without answering him. After a minute of silence, it was Blade who answered.

'It's around two hours, give or take, depending on who's driving.' He told them, and they all laughed because the driver they were getting was the world's slowest driver, who could make a five minute drive to the local shop and hour's job if he put his mind to it. 'Speaking of the driver, is he coming any time soon? We're told a hundred times to be here at 0700 hours, no later or else, and it's almost 0730 hours and no sign of the driver. Bet he won't get sent to Psy-ops for being late.' Blade mumbled, and everyone laughed again, even Alec, though Max was still sitting silent in the corner, shrinking into the wall as far as possible; also as far as possible away from himself, Alec noted with narrowed eyes. He looked over at Ben, and when he caught his eye, he looked towards Max as if asking, _what's her deal?_ But all he got was a shake of the head and a look telling him he would have to find out. He sighed, gave one last look to Max then turned his attention to the now rowdy unit.

20 minutes later, they were finally on the road, with a good driver, to their surprise. No one asked where their usual driver was, but they all threw glances at the young man sitting behind the wheel all throughout the trip. To most of them, the trip passed quickly, but to Max it seemed to draw out, seemingly never ending, as she lost herself in her thoughts.

_Uh! What's his deal? One minute he's annoyingly close and the next minute he's ignoring me! And what was with that comment about us going home? I know I come from Seattle, but what does it have to do with Ben or him? Ben moved around for years and he's lived in Manticore his whole life… except missions, though. Did he have a mission here? What happened? AH!! Why can't he just tell me what he wants to tell me? That's it; as soon as we get off this truck I am SO kicking his ass just for being annoying!_

Meanwhile, next to her Alec's thoughts were following a similar train of thought. _Seattle… Rachel… Max… uh, I wish I could be an ordinary just for a minute so I could switch my brain off. Bloody Manticore, ruining my life once again. Why'd it have to be Seattle? Renfro can't still be testing us, can she? It's been nearly a year, and Max didn't try to escape last time we were here. She really is a bitch. Speaking of bitches, what's with Max today? She's unnaturally quiet and she's staring. Crap, she has that determined look on her face… and it's directed at me, great. Fantastic, just what I need to make my life easier. _

Just under two hours later they came to a stop outside a pretty classy looking apartment building; at least, classier looking then the normal ones found in Seattle. It was near Logan's old apartment, about three blocks away, and it was here that they'd be living until White was dead. Once the van had left them, and their bags, Alec turned to them to give them instructions.

'Ok, so pretty much we have three apartments here, all on the one floor, up on the top, yay for us. Jordan, Abbey and Blade, one apartment. Drac, Honey, Biggs and Steve the second apartment. Sash, Ben, Max and I'll take the last apartment. Any questions?' he asked, looking at them all, except Max.

'Yeah, I got a question. Why do Sash and I have to live with you and Max and all your drama, cause honestly I'd rather squeeze in another apartment, cause I don't think one apartment's big enough for two of us _and_ you two and all your drama.' Ben said, smirking at the two identical glares he received.

'Oh, we've got a funny guy in the group. Ha ha ha, I just can't stop laughing,' Alec deadpanned. 'Now, anyone else got any wisecracks to make, or can we get this mission started already? No? Good.' With that, Alec turned around and headed into the building, the rest of them following him, still laughing at Ben's joke.

Half an hour later, they were all gathered in Alec's apartment, lounging on various lounge room furniture, or the floor, looking expectantly at Alec, who looked lost in thought. Finally, Ben cleared his through, bringing Alec out of his reverie and back to reality.

'Right, so tomorrow the mission really begins. Now, we'll be split up into four parts of White's life; work, home, wife's work and friends. Ben, Sash and Biggs, you're joining the FBI.'

'Yippee' Sash muttered under her breath, and Alec grinned at her.

'Yeah, we all know how much you've been waiting to have this chance, Sash, but please try and keep the enthusiasm to a minimum, we're on a mission here, after all. Now, as I was saying; tomorrow morning, you will report to the FBI, you're transcripts will be there, you're all transferring from different states, so try not to know each other, ok? Good. Now don't worry, there are a few other new transfers starting tomorrow, who are actually FBI, so you should blend in. Ok, Blade and Abbey, you'll be working with the wife, Wendy, at a medical research clinic just outside the city. You both used to work in D.C. so you do know each other, professionally though. Nothing too friendly. Jordan, Steve, Drac and Honey, lucky you guys; you get to work for the man himself! Seems the man is starting to get paranoid, so he's hired all new security personnel, and you four are part of the team. You'll be working in two shifts. Jordan and Steve, you have the morning shift tomorrow, Honey and Drac, you have the evening shift. But that is subject to change, depending on the man. And finally, Max and I get to become _friends_ with him and the wife. We're supposed to be a new couple in town, recently married, rich, and looking for friends in the right crowd. Our first party is at a scientist's house, tomorrow night, so White will be there with his wife, and we'll be there ready to cosy up to them. Questions?'

'Yeah, if the mission doesn't technically start until tomorrow, can we do whatever we want today?' Honey asked, and Alec nodded his head. 'Cool, let's explore the city. I mean, if we're supposed to live here for however long, we should know our way around. And you know the city fairly well, and Max should know it really well.' Max shot him a look at Honey's words, and noted with resentment the way he turned from her, and looked at Ben, who nodded to him. _What is going on with him? He is getting so irritating, even more then usual, and I really didn't think that would be possible. Hah! Everyone's gone to change, he can't escape me now._

'Hey, Alec? Can I talk to you for a minute?' Max asked loudly, and she noted with curiosity the way he seemed to jump at the sound of her voice, and how confused he seemed by the lack of people in the room.

'Oh, uh now? Can't, gotta go change so we can take the others out site-seeing, Max.' He said quickly, jumping to his feet before rushing into their bedroom. _Hmm, he won't be able to get away from me tonight, he has to come to bed some time. Huh, how did I end up sharing a bedroom with Alec? Whatever, I just need to figure out why he's so jumpy all of a sudden. Cause if he's zoning out and jumping at the sound of my voice, he could screw up the mission. That's why I'm so worried, cause he could put one of us in danger… not to mention himself. I think it's time for a cold shower._

That night they were all once again crowded into Alec's living room, this time eating pizza Max had somehow acquired, and talking loudly; except, Max saw, Alec. He was sitting by himself in the corner, lost in thought, a very strange occurrence, as he was usually the center of attention, and loved being surrounded by people. She looked around at everyone else, but they were either too caught up to notice, _not likely_, or they were leaving him alone. Well, she wasn't going to do either, so she picked up a plate, and after piling some pizza on it she wandered over to where he was sitting.

'You know, if we're gonna have to be a married couple tomorrow, you're gonna need your energy if you wanna keep up with me.' She told him, holding out the plate in front of him. He looked up after a minute, his eyes wide and confused, as he looked from her to the plate and back again.

'What?' he asked, and the confusion from his eyes was mirrored in his voice. 'Did you say something?'

'Yeah… uh, you better eat something, you know, transgenics using more energy then normal people and all. Here.' She shoved the plate into his hands, then sat down opposite him, and stared at him until he started eating.

'So… why are you here?' Alec asked suddenly, and now it was Max's turn to look confused. 'I mean here with me, in the corner. Why aren't you talking to people who are _actually_ talking?' He clarified, looking up from the plate in his hands, the slice of pizza in his hand dropping pieces of salami as he waved his hand toward the group behind him.

'Well, they're _already_ talking and you know me, always trying to get everyone to talk' Max said, and she saw his lips twitch into a small smile.

'Yeah, that sounds just like you, couldn't have described you any better myself.' Alec deadpanned, before his small smile grew into his usual grin. Max smiled in return, glad to have at least gotten him to smile.

'So, tomorrow should be interesting huh? Mixing with the rich and famous of Seattle? I did it once, with Logan.' Max told him, pulling a face which made him laugh.

'Not all it was cracked up to be?' he asked, and she shook her head.

'Not at all. When Logan introduced me and I told them my last name, he made up some crap about me coming from the _Greenwich Guevara's_, like that makes me so impressive or whatever. And then there was his ex, _Daphne._ All his family were talking about how perfect they were together, and how they should have gotten married, then it turned out she bats for the other team.' Max told him, starting to laugh as well at the memory. When she looked up, Alec was staring at her, confused.

'The other team?'

'Oh… lesbian. That's what Original Cindy, my room mate, and I always called it. OC bats for the other team. You'd like her.'

'I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take that.' Alec said, as a half laugh half indignant scoff came out of his mouth.

'What?? Oh, no, just that she's really cool and I'm sure you'd get along. Although, I kinda wish I hadn't told you she's a lesbian… it would have been really funny to see your reaction when you hit on her and nothing happened! Oh man, that would have been so cool.' Alec glared at her as she laughed, and he leant over the table and pulled her forward off her chair, so she landed on the floor with a thud. Now it was Max who was glaring up at a laughing Alec from her spot on the floor.

'Hey, don't give me that look, you so deserved it.' Alec told her, as he folded his arms.

'Did not.' Max shot back childishly.

'Did too.' Alec told her, mimicking her voice.

'Did not'

'Did too'

'Did not'

'Too'

'Not'

'Too'

'Not' Max said, poking her tongue out at him.

'Wow, that was _so_ mature Max, how old are you again? Twenty-one? Or one?'

'Oh will you two grow up? And these are the two who are supposed to go mingle in high society tomorrow?' Sash's voice broke into their argument, and they both turned to her and stuck out their tongues at the same time. 'Oh, isn't that sweet, the babies are working together now.'

'Oh you're so hilarious Sash; I'm dying of laughter over here.' Alec deadpanned, before Abbey yawned in the corner, causing Alec to look down at his watch. 'Man, it's getting late. For those of us without shark DNA, I think we need to turn in. Everyone who isn't me, Max, Sash or Ben, get out, go back to your own apartments and make a mess in your own space.'

'Yeah, yeah, we're going, grumpy pants.' Biggs said, and as he turned to leave, his whispered loudly to Honey 'I think _someone_ needs to get laid.' Everyone laughed as Alec glared at their retreating backs. Finally, they were all gone, and Alec leaned back in his chair and sighed.

'Well, aren't we My Drama-King tonight?' Sash said coming over to where Max and Alec were still sitting. His only response was to close his eyes. 'Well, that was rude. Anyway, Ben and I are going to bed now. Don't you two stay up too late partying.' She turned and followed Ben into their bedroom.

'So, you coming to bed?' Max asked Alec. 'Wow that sounded so strange, don't you think… Alec?' Alec was sitting completely still, his head leaning back. Max watched him, looking so peaceful in sleep. She didn't want to wake him up, but she knew if she didn't, he'd be really sore in the morning. She stood up from her spot on the floor and walked over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. 'Alec, hey wake up sleepy head. Time to go to bed'

'Already asleep.' He muttered, and she laughed softly.

'Come on Alec, wouldn't you rather come to bed with me then stay out here and sleep on the chair?' Her laughing grew louder as his eyes popped open and he sat up. 'Thought that would get your attention. Come on, up you get.' She held out her hand to him and he took it as he stood.

'So, Max, did you mean it? You really gonna sleep with me?' he asked cheekily, before trying to stifle the yawn.

'Maybe, if you behave yourself. Just keep your hands to yourself, mister, and we'll have no trouble. How did we end up with the apartment with only two rooms and two double beds?'

'Hmm? Oh, they all have only two rooms, and one has a room with a double and then a room with one single, and the other had a room with one double and a room with two singles, but that's the apartment with three guys. I think you can understand why I didn't try and make Biggs and Steve share a bed.'

'Yeah, I guess so' Max said, sighing as if it were all some huge burden she had to carry. They were in their room now, and she dropped Alec's hand and gave him a slight push towards his side of the bed. 'Now as long as you keep your pants on and your hands to yourself, we'll have no problem. I'll be back in a minute.' She picked up a small bag and walked into the adjoining bathroom. Alec shook his head slightly, smiling to himself as he got ready for bed; his preparation consisted of stripping down to his boxers, so he was done in about thirty seconds.

Max walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and found Alec already in bed, reading a book to her surprise. _Huh, wonder where he got that from? Must have snuck it from the _library_ back at Manticore._ A closer look told her it was called Twilight. She dropped her bag on the floor, and the noise made Alec look up. He froze at the sight of her; she was in a tank top and small pair of shorts, her hair was down _and_ he was about to spend the night in bed with her; except he'd been told to keep his hands to himself. He managed to hold back his groan as she slid into the bed next to him, and he turned to put his book on the nightstand before he flicked of the light. He rolled back over to find Max propped up on her elbow, studying him.

'You're a strange man, Alec.'

'I'll bet that's what you tell all the men you get into bed with' he said, trying to lighten the mood, knowing where she was going with this. She nodded her head slightly, as if admitting defeat, for tonight.

'I will figure you out,' she promised, lying back down. Alec was silent for a long time, and by the time he answered her she was half asleep, and so was unsure that he really spoke at all when he said 'Maybe that's what I'm afraid of.'

Some time during the night, Max and Alec had rolled together, and when she woke up the next morning, Max was confused by the weight she felt. Opening her eyes, she saw an arm flung over her, holding her down. _Well, that explains the weight, but who… oh, right, Alec._ She smiled as she looked down at him; he was still fast asleep and he looked so innocent and peaceful. _If only he could be like that all the time_, she thought, grinning, and although she tried to stop it, a laugh escaped her lips, startling Alec awake. He looked around, confused, before his eyes settled on Max, and he gave a half-assed smile.

'Morning sunshine' he said, before he turned away and sat up. Max just sat there and watched him move about slowly, taking his time as he got dressed. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on a pair of socks, when he turned to her and said 'Is there something fascinating about the way I dress myself Max? Or are you still trying to figure me out, and watching me dress is the way to go about it?' she smiled at the tone of his voice; it was his regular sarcastic voice, and for some reason it made her happy that it was still there.

'No, nothing particularly fascinating, I'm just…' what? What was she doing watching him dress? _Besides checking him out, you mean?_ The annoying voice in her head, that sounded like OC, said to her. 'I was just wondering where you plan on getting formal wear from for tonight, if we're supposed to be attending that party at the Lisay's tonight.' Max said, pleased with herself for coming up with a plausible excuse so quickly.

'Sure' Alec drew the word out, emphasising his disbelief in her statement before he turned back to his shoes. 'We're going shopping, so get up and get dressed cause it's on Manticore.' He told her, then he stood up and walked towards the door, stopping slightly to look back at her. He took a moment to admire the way she looked, the sheets wrapped around her stomach, her hair messed up, and she still looked beautiful. At that thought, she shook his head slightly, before saying 'Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes, so you better be ready, unless you like cold food' He grinned at her stunned look before he left the room, closing the door behind him. It took Max about two minutes before she could move again, she was still processing his words. She finally stood up, and realising how much time she had left, she hurried to get dressed.

At seven thirty that night, Max was standing in front of the mirror in their adjoining bathroom, do some finishing touches. Her dress was floor length, and a pale gold colour. It had thin straps that sat just off the shoulders, and that split into three per side as they went around the arm, and the bottom came out slightly, so it didn't hang straight down. The top clung to her, though, making her waist look tiny. She tucked a stray curl back up into the group, and gave one last look in the mirror before she turned and walked towards the living room, picking up her bag on the way. She could hear Alec talking to Ben and Sash, who were reporting on their first day at the FBI. When she stepped into the room, Alec stopped mid-word, and smiled when she saw his jaw visibly drop and his eyes widen in shock, and appreciation. She simply stood there smiling while he looked her up and down, until Sash noticed what he was doing and hit him on the head, saying 'she's not a piece of meat, you know.'

'Huh?' Alec shook his head slightly, and turned to Sash with a confused look on his face. Max laughed at his expression, and then he turned and looked at her, confused for about another second before he glared at her when he realised she was laughing at him. But it was his turn to laugh when she ran her eyes over the rest of him for the first time and she mimicked his earlier reaction.

'You'd think neither of them had ever seen someone in formal wear the way they're acting' this time it was Ben who broke the silence, and both Max and Alec glared at him before Alec walked forward, offering his arm to Max.

'Shall we go, Mrs McDowell?' he asked, and she shook her head, laughing, before she answered 'Why of course, Mr McDowell.' Then as an afterthought, she added 'Man, this is gonna be weird.'

They pulled up outside a huge mansion 45 minutes later. The got out of the car at the same time as Alec, and he held Max's door open for her, while Alec offered his hand to her to help her out. She took it, and, after Alec told the driver what time to pick them up, she let him lead her inside, relaxing enough to take in her surroundings. They walked through large double doors, made of glass but with an outside set of metal, into a foyer nearly the size of their apartment. Max, thanking Manticore at that moment for training them to keep their emotions under control, managed to hide her shock without anyone noticing, except Alec.

'Just wait, it'll keep getting bigger. This is nothing.' He whispered in her ear, and she told herself the shiver was just from the draught in the huge room. Alec felt it and unconsciously pulled her closer to him, keeping her warm. They walked through the archway into the next room, and Max kept up her surveillance, taking in every small detail, including the small inane ones, like how many light switches and alarm detectors there were; just in case. She could tell Alec was doing the same next to her, until they were in the ballroom.

'Dinner's not for half an hour, shall we dance?' Alec asked as he offered Max his arm. When he saw her reluctance, he continued 'you know, it's either we dance, or we go mingle. I can just see it now; _oh yes, this is my wife, Maxine, and I'm Alec, Alec McDowell. We just moved here from Paris, and I must say…'_

'Alright, alright, we'll dance.' Max cut him off, taking his hand and leading him out onto the dance floor. With one hand he took hers, while his other settled on her waist. Her hand rested on his shoulder, and he was amazed at how natural it felt. He spent 5 seconds listening to the music, and once he had the rhythm, they were off, Alec leading her across the floor, keeping her steady, for which she was grateful. They danced quickly and energetically for three songs, until a slow waltz began. Alec slowed the pace down, and their movements were slow and deliberate, but somehow, still not boring. They moved gently across the floor, until the end of the song, when they slowed until they were simply swaying to the music. Max's head rested on his chest, and she could hear his heart beating, and she smiled as she noticed it was beating faster then usual, which couldn't have been from the dancing. She lifted her head to look up at him, ready to make a sarcastic comment but the look in his eyes stopped her before the words came out. They were still swaying slightly, and they were very close. Max's eyes fluttered close as Alec's face came down closer to her; she was anticipating the feel of his lips, but it never came because he jerked away from the simple word spoken next to them…

'Simon?'

A/N: ok, so what did ya think? Yay or nay?? Let me know


	6. Chapter 6: Resolving the past

Disclaimer: nup, still don't own it

A/N: wow, quick update!! You can thank my friend – she was reading the last chapter and the start of this one over my shoulder while I was writing, so she spent the last week bugging me to write. Anyway, hope you like it!

Chapter 6: Resolving the Past

'Simon?'

Alec's head snapped up and Max opened her eyes and followed his gaze; standing to her right was a young girl, maybe two years younger then her with long brown hair and creamy white skin and brown eyes that were currently wide and staring at Alec like she'd seen a ghost.

'Rachel?' the name was barely a whisper, and Max was sure she was the only one who heard it. She looked at him, but Alec was still staring at the girl, Rachel. He released Max's hand and took a few small steps towards her. Max heard him talk to her, but his words made no sense to her. 'Rachel, the first thing I need to say is I'm sorry, and I can't explain right now, but what I said that day was true, but I never meant for you to get hurt, you have to believe that. We need to talk; I'll let you know, ok? No, Max will call you tomorrow, ok? Max' Rachel was obviously still too stunned to talk as all she did was nod, and after that Alec gave her one last look before he turned back to Max, and, taking her hand, pulled her back through the crowd toward the exit.

'Alec, where are we going? We have to meet the target!' She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, but he didn't even turn back to look at her when he answered 'not tonight, tonight we just need to get back to the apartment. Things just got complicated.'

'What? How complicated? Why? Who was that girl?'

'Not here, in the car. I guess you should hear it first.' Alec said as he pulled out his cell phone and called the driver, telling him there was a change in plans.

'So, are you gonna tell me who she is?' Max demanded when they were seated in the back seat of the car. Alec sighed and put his head in his hands, and that alone told Max that this was not going to be easy.

'Two years ago, I was sent out on my first solo mission. My target was Robert Berrisford, he was the CEO of Mercidyne Pharmaceuticals. My way in was as the new piano teacher for his seventeen year old daughter…'

'Rachel' Max finished for him, and he nodded.

'My initial contact was with her alone, and we got… close.'

'How close?' Max asked, her voice barely a whisper. There was a long pause before Alec answered, and the words almost broke her heart when she heard them. 'I loved her and then I was told to kill her. I thought I had; Manticore never told me what happened the day I planted a bomb under her father's car. I told her, just after I planted the bomb, I tried to warn her, but it came out wrong and I scared her, so she ran out to her father and the bomb went off. Manticore had come along to keep an eye on me, and they had a second detonator. They took me before I could see if Rachel was still alive, and when I got back to Manticore, they sent me straight to Psy-ops.' He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a small heart shaped locket on a thin silver chain. 'This is all I had of her, and if I didn't have this, they probably would have broken me completely and I would have forgotten her. But now…'

'Her father's gonna know you're not who you say you are, and I'm gonna say he's not gonna be at all pleased with you. I think once you've talked to Rachel, she's gotta be the one to tell her father.' Max murmured, more to herself then anything else.

'What makes you think she's gonna believe me, let alone _talk_ to me?' Alec asked, incredulously. 'Did you miss the part where I had her and her dad almost blown up?'

'No, I didn't. I also didn't miss the part where you said you told her the truth, and I don't think she'll have forgotten either. She knows that if it wasn't for you, she and her dad would have been _in_ that car went the bomb went off. And she loves you' Max added as almost an afterthought, and Alec noted the hurt in her voice when she said it, although he filed it away as something to think about later.

'She _loved_ me, as in past tense. I highly doubt she'd still love me know. Would you still love a guy who tried to assassinate you?' Alec asked, his voice full of disbelief.

'Well, no, but if that guy tried to warn me about it, and ended up saving my life, then I definitely wouldn't brush him off straight away. And plus, we all know I'm not like most girls, especially when it comes to relationships.' Max was pleased when that last comment managed to get a laugh out of him. Then their driver turned into the parking lot of the building, and they got out. When the door to the elevator opened, Max got in, but when she turned around, Alec was still standing outside, looking in.

'What? Are you afraid of the elevators?' She asked, and he gave her a scornful look before he got in, punching the number of their floor. 'Relax, Alec. Are you worried about the mission or what the others are gonna think? They won't think you're cold-hearted or too soft, either, whichever it is you're thinking. They'll still respect you as much as ever, if not more. Now quit your moping, and get your ass out of the elevator, cause we're here.' She gave him a light shove out the door. Just as he stumbled out of the elevator, Biggs came out of the door opposite, and he just looked at him for a minute.

'How much did you drink?' was all he said before he shrugged and moved towards the next door down, the apartment where Jordan, Abbey and Blade were living. He was almost in the door when Alec remembered what he needed to do.

'Hey!' Biggs turned and looked back at them. 'Tell everyone to be in our apartment in five minutes, it's important.' Biggs nodded, but didn't ask any questions, although Max could clearly see the puzzlement in his eyes. Max took Alec's arm and turned him in the other direction, toward their apartment. She opened the door and steered him inside, and, ignoring Ben and Sash's questions, took him straight into their bedroom. Without bothering to remove anything but his jacket, she shoved him into the adjoining bathroom and straight into the shower. She reached in and blasted the cold water; this seemed to do the trick, because he straightened up and let out a loud yell of shock. Ben and Sash came crashing through the door, but stopped and burst out laughing when they saw Alec, soaking wet in his suit, glaring at Max as he reached out and turned the tap off.

'Ok, jokes over, get out so I can change' he told them, but when Max turned to follow them, he stopped her. 'Nup, not you missy. We need to talk.' He told her, holding her arm, and he waited for Ben and Sash to exit the bedroom, snickering, before he slammed the door shut behind them. 'You put me in the shower?' he asked, as he turned to his set of drawers and started pulling out clean, dry clothes. 'Get me a towel, would you?' Max walked back into the bathroom, and when she came back out, she stopped short as she was greeted with the sight of Alec's bare chest. After a minute of silence, he turned around to see where she was and caught her staring. She ducked her head immediately, and threw him the towel before walking to her own set of drawers, mimicking his actions of finding clean clothes. Neither of them turned around until they were fully dressed, and Max only turned around once she heard Alec leave the room. She walked into the bathroom and quickly removed her makeup, giving herself a scornful look in the mirror. She shook her head, before she went out to join the group.

When she walked out the first thing she noticed was that Alec was dressed exactly the same as her; black pants, t-shirt and baggy grey jumper. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who noticed.

'Aww, ain't it cute? Now they're even dressing the same' Biggs said, and he earned a pillow to the head for his troubles.

'Shut up Biggs, there'll be time for that later. Right now I'm interested in why Alec came back acting like he was hung over or something, and why Max felt the need to put him in the shower… fully clothed.' Sash said, effectively turning everyone's attention the reason they where all congregated in the small apartment.

'Yeah… well…' Alec faltered, and he looked around at Max, who gave him a slight smile and a nod, before he turned back to the rest of his unit. 'There's been a slight… complication with mine and Max's cover.' He paused again, and everyone sat in silent anticipation… for about a minute.

'What do you mean a slight complication? What happened tonight?' Steve asked, and Alec cleared his throat before continuing.

'Uh… tonight at the party, I ran into someone… unexpected. That is to say, someone I thought was dead. Do you remember that solo mission I had, about two years ago? Well, you all know it didn't go exactly according to plan, hence the four month stint I did in psy-ops. Well, the person we ran into tonight was the daughter of the man I was supposed to kill. Actually, they were both supposed to die, but I don't think either of them did. Now Rachel knows I'm alive, and she, well let's just say that she knows what I do.' Alec finished, and when he turned to Max for her opinion, he was surprised to see she was missing. He was equally surprised he hadn't noticed her leave. Seeing the others were all deep in conversation, about him, he too slipped out of the apartment. He looked up and down the hall, trying to figure out where Max could be, and he was about to go back in when his eyes fell on the stairwell door that said _roof access._ He remembered Ben telling him about the high pace back at Manticore, and how even now Max sought comfort at the high place, normally the Space Needle. So he headed for the roof, and sure enough, when he walked out into the chilly night air, there was Max, leaning against the edge, looking out across the city.

'We won't be able to continue our part of the mission until you clear all this up with her.' Max said by way of greeting.

'Yeah, I know. It's just, what do you say to someone you thought was dead? Especially when you were the one who was supposed to kill them?' he asked he back, as she still hadn't turned to him.

'First, you have to try and forgive yourself, especially if they've already forgiven you. But you still end up apologising heaps, and you try and justify yourself, even though they say it doesn't matter, and after about the hundredth time, it starts to sink in. And then you figure out where you stand now.' Max finished softly, and when she turned around Alec stared at her for a minute, before it hit him; _she was talking about Ben. She'd thought he was dead, that she'd killed him, then she'd come back to Manticore and found him alive._

'I just don't know how she could really have forgiven me, I mean, I told her I was sent to kill her and her father.'

'If you love someone enough, it doesn't matter what they did; and knowing that they did it out of love, or that they tried to stop it happening, just makes it easier to forgive them, even though it was never really their fault to begin with.' This time it wasn't Max's voice that answered him, but Ben's. They both turned, startled, to see him standing at the top of the stairs, regarding them both with a curious, and slightly angry look on his face. 'Max, you need to take your own advice and stop blaming yourself, cause as you can clearly see, I'm fine. Not dead. You only did what I asked you to do. And Alec, it sounds like this girl loved you, and she probably still does, so she's forgiven you. She probably forgave you a long time ago. Renfro knew what she was doing, sending the three off us back here. She's smart; creepy as all hell, but smart. She's testing us; you, me and Max. You both need to deal with this Berrisford thing, and soon, otherwise you could get us all killed. And on that note, I'm gonna go back downstairs before Sash kills Biggs – he was complaining about sharing a room with Steve.' Ben smiled at them before he disappeared down the stairs. Alec and Max stared at the spot he was standing in for almost 5 minutes before Alec moved.

'He's right… when did that start happening? Anyway, I won't let my actions get anyone else hurt. Man, seriously, I never thought I'd get that long a speech from him, or that serious a speech. I think I'm just gonna go to bed and pray that when I wake up I'll find this was all just a dream. No, scratch that; a nightmare.' Alec was still shaking his head in disbelief when he disappeared from her sight, down the stairs.

20 minutes later, Alec was lying in bed in the dark, thinking about the day. _Jesus, could I have screwed up any more than this? Manticore so did this on purpose, to screw with my mind. What the hell am I supposed to do now? Even if what the others say about Rachel forgiving me is true, what about her father? He sure as hell won't be as easy to convince. And Max… what about her? She looked so sad when I told her about Rachel. Well duh, she was probably thinking that I was just what she imagined I was the first time we met. A cold blooded killer. But she looked more sad when I told her I loved Rachel. Yeah right, wishful thinking much? Oh great! I'm practically talking to myself! Psy-ops would have a field day!_ His internal debate was cut short when the door opened, admitting Max. He discreetly rolled over, not in the mood to talk. But apparently he was too slow.

'Alec?' Max's voice was low and hesitant; almost like she wasn't really sure she wanted to start this conversation. But when she spoke again, she seemed more determined. 'Alec, I know you're awake, so don't bother trying to pretend. You know, as much as you can talk, I can probably talk more' he couldn't help himself, he had to laugh at that, but the second he did, he silently cursed himself.

'Fine, you got me. I'm awake, and just so you know, no one can talk as much as I can… except maybe Biggs.' He added as an afterthought. 'So… what did ya want to talk about?'

'Alec, about tonight… with Rachel… I know this is something you gotta deal with, but I'm here… ya know, I got your back if you need me. There, I said it. Wow, talk about awkward, huh?' Max laughed nervously, then after a moment's silence, she turned to go to the bathroom, but Alec's voice stopped her.

'Thanks. Will you call her tomorrow, like I told her? I can't exactly call her, cause I'd have to explain to her dad why a guy is calling her if I say I'm Alec, and I can't say it's Simon, for obvious reasons…'

'Yeah, I'll call her. And you know, if after you've talked to her she's still a little, I dunno… I can talk to her for you, you know, girl talk and all that. I got a lot of experience too, from Original Cindy. She used to do it to me, all the time.' She smiled at the memory, before she went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

'Berrisford residence, how may I help you?'

'Oh, hi, I'm looking for Rachel. It's Max, she's expecting my call.' Max said, trying to sound a little bit more girly, unsure of the kind of people who usually called for Rachel.

'Just hold on a minute, I'll find her.' Max heard a soft click, then a song she knew but couldn't place started playing in her ear. She looked over at Alec, who was staring at a spot on the wall, motionless as a rock, just like he had been for the last ten minutes, since she'd said she was ready to call Rachel. She was still watching him when the music was replaced by a soft voice.

'Hello? Max?' Rachel's voice came through the phone, and brought Max back to the real world.

'Yes, hi. I'm calling for Al- Simon. He would really like to talk to you, in private, but if you would prefer a public place that's fine. I know there's a park near here, a small one that you showed him, that shouldn't be too far from your house either. His only request is that you don't bring anyone who will recognise him, at least not yet. He just wants a chance to explain everything properly.' There was silence, and Max would have thought Rachel was gone if it wasn't for the breathing she could hear.

Finally, 'Ok. Do you mean the small park on the corner of 22nd and May? I can be there in 20 minutes. And tell him… can you just tell him I'm not angry? About anything? I know I can do it, but I have a feeling he won't want to believe it, at least not yet. Oh, and will you be there?'

'Um… only if you want me to come.' Max stammered, surprised by the question.

'Could you? I know he'll be hard on himself and… he'll need someone who isn't afraid to tell him the truth, and well, I'll probably be inclined to lie to him to make him feel better.' Max's heart almost broke when Rachel said that. _I wonder what it would be like to have someone love you like that? What would it be like to _love_ someone like that?_

'Max? What did she say?' Alec's voice stopped her train of thought before it really had a chance to start off, for which she was partly grateful, partly annoyed.

'Oh, uh, we'll see you there Rachel. She'll meet us in the park in 20 minutes.' Max told him, ignoring his questioning look at the word _we_. Come on, you need to clean up before we leave… and I guess I'm getting the job of barber this morning, cause you don't look like you can be trusted with a razor. Come on' Max took his hand and led him into the bathroom, unsure whether she should sigh or laugh at the situation.

'Hey, uh, Max, what time did you tell her to be here?' Max rolled her eyes at the question; it was the twenty-fourth time in three minutes.

'Just calm down Alec, she doesn't walk as fast as us, ok? She probably just misjudged the distance. She'll be here.' Max gave another glance around the park, and suddenly there she was, walking around the edge of the park, slowly making her way towards them. She bent down in front of Alec, keeping her eye on Rachel, as she whispered 'she's here know, Alec.'

His head snapped up at that, his eyes wide and he looked around the park, his eyes finally stopping on Rachel. She stopped walking around them now, and was walking directly to them. When she was about a meter away from them, she stopped, and Max stood, and for a moment the two young women looked at each other, each one taking the other in. Alec looked back and forth between them, noting the similarities, and the differences. The hair, long and brown, and the eyes, large and brown, and he could imagine the smiles, true and big. But where Max's skin was a golden brown, Rachel's was a creamy white. Where Rachel had been innocent and trusting, Max would have been knowing and cautious. Rachel's eyes were young and excited, Max's guarded and world weary. But, he thought with a wry smile, they could both be extremely cheeky when they wanted. But seeing them together only made the small voice in his head even louder.

'You must be Rachel' Max's pulled him out of his internal debate once again, and not a minute too soon, he thought. He looked up to see Max extending her hand to Rachel. 'I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you, at least since last night.'

'I wasn't aware there was a lot to hear about me. Who knew?' Rachel's comment made Max smile, and both women seemed to instantly relax.

'And I guess we all know me, right?' Alec cut in, and both women turned back to him. 'Before we start, I go by Alec now, Rachel. Using the name Simon… it's just not me.'

'Alec' she nodded her approval and smiled. 'I like it, it suits you more than Simon did. And before you say anything else, I don't know if Max passed on the message, but you need to believe me when I say you're forgiven. And I understand. Maybe not completely, about the whole soldier program thing, but I understand why you did what you did.'

'Listen, I'm gonna give you a few minutes alone here, ok? I swear I won't be far, I'll here if Alec calls. And Alec, don't skim over the details. She can handle it.' With those as her parting words, she wandered off towards the swings.

'Alec, she's right. Don't leave things out, I need to understand. That day… when you said that you were there to kill my dad… I want to know _why_ you were there, why they sent you. I need to be able to understand before I can help my dad understand.' Alec made the mistake of looking into Rachel's eyes; so trusting and innocent, and he was about to take the innocence away.

'Rachel… Max and I, were not exactly like you. It's hard to explain, without you freaking out on me. We're part of a large group of specifically… _designed_ soldiers. We were made, in labs. They mixed our DNA with animal DNA, to make us faster, stronger, better. You're dad's company was a large supplier to Manticore, especially cause he was in the gene-splicing business, and that's what Manticore was into, is into. Anyway, I guess he started getting too curious, and he started digging too deep, cause one day I got order to go see my superior, guy named Sandoval. He gives me the instructions to learn everything about you and your dad, and to learn the piano. Next day he comes back and tells me I'm moving out.'

'Wait, you learnt to play the piano like that in one day?' Rachel asked, eyes wide in incredulity. Alec smiled at her reaction.

'I told you they made us better, smarter. Anyway, I came into Seattle, and I… got rid of the real Simon Lehane. I swapped licences, and I became Simon. And I guess you know what happened next. I never meant to fall for you, but I did. I guess I just didn't see it… I didn't understand what it was. Manticore isn't real big on the whole _emotions_ deal. It's pretty much, emotions make you weak, and if you're weak, you're not a soldier. Mostly we were trained to suppress them, or ignore them. But I couldn't, and then one day they told me to eliminate the target, and to take you out too. I got there, and I set the bomb, just like I was instructed, but then I saw you in the window, and I just didn't care about them. That's when I came in to find you, but I was so confused and everything came out wrong, and I scared you, and by the time I got outside, the bomb had gone off and I didn't understand, cause I had the detonator, and then I saw them. They followed me, I guess they didn't trust me. And I tried to get to you, to see if you were ok, but they got me first, then they must have tranquilised me, cause the next thing I knew, I was in the basement at Manticore… and you really don't need to hear the rest.' Alec was looking out towards the kids playing on the playground, running around, free.

'Alec… why're you here now?' he looked back, stunned by the question. It was the last one he expected to hear from her. He looked back around, and saw Max, sitting on one of the swings, pushing lightly against the ground, watching the girl on the swing next to her. Suddenly she looked over at him, and she stopped her swing and stood up. She smiled at the girl, and waved as she headed back towards the bench where Alec and Rachel sat.

'Why're we here? Rachel, do you know the Ames White and his family?' Max said once she was in hearing range for Rachel.

'Ames White? Yes, I met him a few months ago, at a party. His wife, Wendy, is lovely, although I sort of got the impression that he likes keeping her close, really close. And she seemed a lot happier when I saw her about a month ago at a party that Ames couldn't attend, for some reason. I think she's afraid of him.'

'That's what I thought. Well, he's why we're here. Manticore want him gone. Apparently, he know all about us, and he doesn't like us. As in specifically Alec and me, and the rest of us soldiers that Manticore made. He seems to be of the belief that we're _unnatural._ Manticore isn't happy about everything he's been saying, but he also seems to be a generally not nice person.'

'Although I'm sure if Max had her way, she wouldn't kill him. See, you were the first real mission any of us got, where we actually had to get to know the target, and since then, we haven't eliminated a lot of the targets. We help them get away, if they're good people, and we fake their deaths. Some we have killed, the truly evil ones. But it was all because of you. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice, and my unit didn't ask questions when I gave them their instructions. They made the judgements and they only killed when necessary.'

'Well, we'll see how this turns out. Only Jordan and Honey have made contact so far, although their reports don't tell us much. And last night… well, we didn't exactly get the chance to meet him, so I guess we wait a few days until the next party.'

'But before that you need to talk to my dad, right? Cause he'll be at that party at the Jones' and if he sees Alec, all hell will break loose.' Rachel put in, and Max looked at her and nodded.

'Yeah, I figured. Uh, look, can you think of how to break it to him, and then give us a call tonight? We can come over tomorrow, or the day after, whenever, since Mr and Mrs McDowell don't have jobs.' She turned to Alec with a grin on her face, 'you know, being Mrs Alec McDowell really isn't that interesting.' He mocked a hurt look.

'You wound me with your words, Max. Really you do. Maybe next time I'll pick my wife more carefully.' He replied sarcastically.

'Or just get me a job! I mean really, how do people just sit around all day doing nothing? I agree with Ben, that apartment is WAY too small for the two of us, let alone four of us.'

'There are four of you?' Rachel asked, curious now as to how many there were of them.

'Oh yeah, there's me and Alec, then Ben and Sash in the other room. Ben's Alec's twin, or vice versa I guess, cause he's 493 and you're 494. And then in the other apartments there's Jordan, Abbey and Blade, and the other one is Steve, Biggs, Honey and Drac.' Max told her, and smiled at the way her eyes widened in shock. 'Yeah, I know. Apparently it'll take all of us to deal with this guy. And that's not even all of our unit. Ariel, Gem and Cece are still back at Manticore _under observations_. Evil woman' she muttered the last bit to herself, and didn't see Rachel's confused look, but Alec did.

'She's talking about the director, Renfro. Max is still a little sore about… a program we were all in a few months ago. Although I don't know why, it's not like she actually participated, and the people who did were already doing what they were supposed to be, and it was all her fault anyway…' he trailed off, smirking, when Max glared at him.

'How was I supposed to know they would turn to the natural methods of reproducing?' She was still glaring at him, and he couldn't help himself, he had to laugh.

'I'm sorry, but did you really think they wouldn't find a new way to make soldiers if you took out the DNA lab?' Once again he saw Rachel's confused look. 'Max and half her unit escaped in '09 and then last year four of them came back and blew up the DNA lab, but Max and her brother got caught, and then cause there was no more DNA lab, they paired of a lot of the X5s, that's our series, as breeding partners, to try and get the girls pregnant. Most of them didn't mind, cause they ended up with their… partners, but some of us, like me and Max, don't have partners. I swear when I first told her why I was in her cell, she looked ready to cause serious bodily harm, but thankfully she didn't. So four nights a week I go and sit on her bunk and bug the hell out of her.' The two women shared a look, and it was Alec's turn to glare.

'He does like to talk, doesn't he? I noticed that, especially when he was nervous.' Rachel told Max, who shot a questioning look at Alec.

'You? Nervous? Somehow I can't imagine it.' Max said cheekily, grinning.

'Yep, it was… endearing.' Rachel decided.

'Endearing? That's what you call little kids!' Alec said, outraged.

'Yeah, your point being…?' Max said, as she and Rachel laughed. Alec stood up.

'Right, I'm gonna go for a walk, and hopefully when I get back, you two will have grown up.'

'He's grouchy when people make fun of him.' Max commented as he walked around. Rachel nodded, and they both laughed again.

'So, you two were breeding partners?' Rachel asked casually, or tried to ask casually.

'Yeah, but like he said, we usually spend the night talking. Or he talks, I try to ignore him most of the time. Listen…'

'No, it's cool. It's been two years, and he thought I was dead. I didn't expect him to wait forever.'

'What are you talking about?'

'I'm not blind Max, and a woman in love can easily recognise another one.'

'WHAT? I'm not in lo… do you mean Alec? You think I'm in love with Alec? No way, I mean we're just pretending to be married and…'

'Max, calm down. Just, I mean I thought you would have known, it's kinda obvious. Anyway, I really need to get home before my dad freaks out. He's been overly protective since, well, you know. I'll try and talk to him tonight, but I'll let you know. Say goodbye to Alec for, ok?' And before Max could fully function again, Rachel was walking away.

'Hey' Alec's voice behind her made her jump, and she spun around to see him watching Rachel leave. 'Where's she going?'

'Oh… uh, she had to go home. She said she'll call tonight. We should go soon too, Blade and Abbey will be back from _work_ soon. And Steve and Drac's shift will be over soon too, so we should talk to Jordan and Honey before they leave.'

When Max's phone rang that night, Ben was the only one around to answer it, so he picked it up, wondering who would be calling her when she was just down the hall.

'Hello?'

'Alec? What are you doing answering Max's phone? Never mind, you and Max need to get over here now. I told dad, and he took it a little worse than I expected. I don't know how to deal with him, he won't listen to me, I think he's gonna do something…'

'Woah, hang on. Who is this?'

'What? It's Rachel, Ale… Ben, you're Ben aren't you? I need Max, now!' _Rachel? Shit!_ He ran out of the apartment and burst into Biggs', making the four transgenics inside jump up into fight stance, until they saw it was just Ben.

'Jesus Ben, what are you trying to do? Give us all a heart attack?' Sash asked, rolling her eyes, but he ignored her.

'Max, it's Rachel. She says she needs you over there now, something about her dad.' He barely had time to finish the sentence before Alec and Max were gone, with her phone, out the door. 'Oh, don't worry about it, really, it's fine. Man, they better not get themselves hurt, cause no doubt we're gonna be the ones who get to clean up after them.' He rolled his eyes, then moved to sit next to Sash. 'So, how did we all enjoy day two at the FBI?' Now it was Sash's turn to roll her eyes.

The first thing Max and Alec heard when they pulled up in front of the Berrisford Mansion was yelling; lots of yelling. They exchanged a brief look before Alec took off over the fence, followed by Max. They blurred to the front door, but stopped short at the sight of Rachel crying in the arms of a man Max assumed was her father. Neither one noticed their sudden appearance, and they gave them a minute before Alec cleared his throat. The reaction of the two people was so completely different it took Max by surprise. Rachel looked relieved and afraid all at the same time; he father looked… murderous almost seemed too light a word for the look in his eyes. Rachel seemed to notice it too, because she was the first to speak.

'Daddy, please, you promised. Just listen to us. Please.' He finally tore his eyes of Alec and brought them back to his daughter, and as most fathers, once he looked at his daughter, he was powerless to say no. But as he didn't really want to agree, he settled on a quick nod of his head. Then he finally noticed Max, who had been leaning casually against the door frame, silent and watching.

'Who's this Rachel?' he asked his daughter, who looked at a loss of what to say, so Max answered for her.

'I'm Max, Mr Berrisford. I believe you're already familiar with Manticore and what they do there, otherwise you never would have met Alec. Well, I'm another one of their, _soldiers_, although I've only recently come back to them.' She told him, her voice light as if they were having a nice simple conversation between friends.

'What do you mean, recently come back to them?' he demanded, ignoring her mention of the reason they were all there.

'I escaped in 2009, with about half of my unit, or family as I like to refer to them, and they captured me at the end of last year. Not a fun few months, I can tell you that.' Max told him.

'So you're one of them again?'

'Not exactly. I mean, I still don't like following their rules and stuff, but I can't leave, yet.' She clarified.

'What do you mean yet?' The questions confused Max, as she thought they were there to discuss Alec, but she answered them anyway, seeing that he was calming down slightly.

'Well, when I came back I found out that my… brother, for lack of a better word, was there as well, and I can't leave him, or my unit. Especially since they're the ones who will suffer if I run. And I think I caused enough pain the last time I left. So I'm biding my time.' She shrugged her shoulders as if it made perfect sense to her, but Berrisford apparently wasn't done yet.

'So in the mean time your running around killing people?' he said, getting angry again.

'No. This is my first mission, and I don't intend to kill anyone, unless it's in self defence or to save someone else. Believe me, most of us at Manticore don't enjoy killing. Why do you think Alec told Rachel about the bomb that day?' she asked softly, bringing them all back to the real reason they were all there. She could see the anger in his eyes, and Rachel, sensing trouble, put her hand on her father's arm.

'Daddy, remember, you said you'd listen.'

'Mr Berrisford… I'm sure Rachel's told you by now that I was sent here to keep an eye on you, see how close you were getting to Manticore, and when I found the information on your computer telling me that you'd gotten too close, I was ordered to terminate you, and Rachel. As soon as they gave me the order, I felt uneasy, but I couldn't say anything, cause they would've just sent another soldier in my place to plant the bomb. So I came, and I planted the bomb, but just after that I saw Rachel upstairs, through the window, and I realise why it didn't feel right. I loved your daughter, and I realised that _neither_ of you deserved to die. So I went in to warn her, but I was so scared that I screwed it up, and then when she ran out, Manticore set off the bomb. I tried to stop her but…'

'But what? Why did you put the bomb there in the first place if you didn't want to kill her? What, you didn't realise what it would do? Or you were too busy thinking about yourself to care what happened to her?' No one was prepared for what happened next; while he was ranting, Berrisford pulled a gun out of the back of his pants, and pointed it at Alec. While he just stood there, Max made a move to get it off him, but was stopped by Alec's voice.

'No, Max. Don't. Just let him do what he has to do.'

'Alec, are you crazy? He wants to _shoot_ you. You know, bang bang, you're dead?'

'Yes, I'm well aware of what happens when you're shot Max, having shot a few people in my lifetime, not to mention been shot more than once. But if he does it, he does it. I probably deserve it.' This last bit was directed at Berrisford. 'Go on; I almost killed your daughter. It's who I was raised to be, who I was born to be. I'm a killer! Do it!' Max and Rachel looked on in horror, both frozen in shock at the scene in front of them.

'I want to so badly. I want to believe that you deserve it.' Berrisford said finally, his voice hard. Then he lowered the gun, and Max darted forward quietly and took it from his loose fingers, quickly emptying the chamber. She heard Alec's breath rush out of him, as if he'd been unaware he'd been holding it. She looked at him and for a second saw the fear in his eyes, and was sure it was mirrored in hers. Then they both looked at Rachel, who briefly took her eyes off her father and moved them to the large portrait behind Max before she collapsed on the ground.

'RACHEL!'

'RACHEL!'

'RACHEL!'

They all yelled her name in unison, and ran forward in time, and Max briefly thought that under different circumstances they would look comical. Despite being closer, Mr Berrisford was the last to reach her, and Alec already had her in his arms when he asked where he should take her.

'To the private cinema room, she'll be comfortable there. It's just the shock, this isn't the first time. She suffered some short term memory loss after the accident, and when she first remembered, this happened.' Alec put her down on the large chocolate brown couch, while Max found a blanket to lie over her. Then she turned to Mr Berrisford.

'Look, Alec isn't gonna say this, so I am. I really don't like guns, and I especially don't like people who pull guns on my friends. Now, I understand where you're coming from, I really do. I've been in the exact same situation, and thankfully I can say I took the same route as you, cause like I said before, I don't like killing people. But if you ever pull a stunt like that around me again, I will break something. Now, I know you got issues with Alec here, but I'll be honest, a lot of people do. Maybe not as big as yours, but issues all the same. He can be as irritating as hell, especially when he puts his mind to it. But he isn't a cold blooded killer, and if your daughter can see that, then you need to see that. And you need to not ruin our cover now. Cause Ames White is shaping up to be a real piece of work, and we need to be able to deal with him if necessary. But for that to happen, we actually need to meet him. So can you put all of this shit behind you, at least for now?' Max stared the older man down, and gave him points for lasting so long under the look. She almost smiled though, when she saw Alec looking at her, out of the corner of her eye, like she'd grown two heads or something. Finally Berrisford acknowledged what she'd said, after he looked down at Rachel.

'I have to try, for Rachel. I trust her, and if she trusts you, I guess I do too.' He finally conceded. 'I won't interfere in your job, and can I just add, I agree with your assertion about Ames; he is a real piece of work, I've seen his wife sporting a few bruises that definitely don't come from falling up the stairs at work.' He shook his head slightly, like he couldn't believe a man would do that to his wife.

'Look, Mr Berrisford, we really need to get back before our friends get worried, but thanks. I promise I'll stay out of your way, and I'll stay away from Rachel. It's probably best for her, anyway.'

'Thankyou. I know she still loves you, but I think she understands that it's just a first love. She hasn't been holding out for you, but she won't forget you. I guess you weren't all bad for her.' Berrisford led them back out into the hall. When they were out the door, Max looked back and sent him her most charming smile.

'I guess we'll be seeing you around, at the functions.' Was all she said, before she left, pulling Alec's sleeve to get him back up the drive way faster.

'Well, I guess that went as well as could be expected.' Alec commented once they were on the other side of the fence. He backed up though, when Max rounded on him.

'As well as could be expected? Maybe if you hadn't stood there, telling him to shoot you! What were you thinking? He could have really shot you! And even if he was a bad shot, at that range it wouldn't matter! Are you really that big of an idiot? Did you really want to be shot? Or were you just trying to shorten my life span? Not to mention Rachel's! Manticore gave you an excellent brain, why weren't you using it?' The rant continued like this for more than a minute, and Alec finally got a word in when she stopped for breath. _Damn Manticore and their whole not needing to breath for long periods of time._

'Look, Max, it was no big deal. I really didn't think he'd do it, but we both kinda… needed that. And may I add, without getting hurt, that I am very shocked at the two long speeches I've heard from you today. I swear you spoke more today than your first _week_ with the unit.' He grinned at her, and was still grinning a slap to the head and a kick to the shin later, as they sped off in the direction of their temporary home.

The following Saturday night, Alec and Max were once again dressed to the nines, attending their second ball of the week, although they planned on staying longer than 15 minutes this time. Max was off in the far corner, cozing up to some of the guests who knew Ames, when Rachel came up behind Alec. Without saying anything, she indicated for him to walk with her. He followed her out onto one of the balconies, and watched as she leaned on the rail, waiting for her to start.

'You picked a good one, Alec. She's good for you, right for you. She'll make you happy' her words stunned him, and he was still frozen when she turned to him. She stopped him, though, before he could voice his denial. 'Don't. I already had the denial speech from Max, and I don't care what either of you say; it's clear to me, and probably a lot of other people. Anyway, I didn't bring you out here to debate the fact of you being in love with Max, I just wanted to say thankyou for loving me, and good luck with her. She'll be a handful, but I think you can handle her.' She moved towards him, and standing on her toes, brushed a light kiss on his lip, before she whispered 'goodbye Alec,' and she disappeared back into the ball room, leaving him alone for a few minutes before he went back in, in search of Max.

They were mingling in the ballroom when they saw him. He was talking to their host, his wife standing silently at his side. Max's eyes zeroed in on a light purple on her upper arm and shoulder, and understood what Berrisford had been talking about when he mentioned her bruises. _Those are definitely not from any fall._ She felt Alec take her by the elbow and lead them over to their host.

'Mr Jones, Mrs Jones, so sorry to interrupt, but my wife and I just had to thankyou for welcoming us into your home, and I must say, it's a beautiful home indeed.' Alec suppressed his smirk when Mrs Jones beamed at him, and Mr Jones clapped him on the back. _So easy._ White cleared his throat, and Mr Jones started, before turning back to Alec.

'I'm so sorry, Ames this is Mr and Mrs McDowell, new to Seattle, recently moved from Washington City. Alec, this is Ames White and his wife, Wendy. Ames works for the FBI. Alec is the owner of a computer company.'

'Really, that must be interesting. The FBI, what's it like helping to clean up our cities?' Max asked, filling her voice with awe and wonder, and felt like throwing up at his smug smile and condescending tone when he answered.

'Yes, it's very rewarding, but I imagine you would find the details very dull. If you'll excuse us, Alec, Jeff, I see Larry and his wife, must go say hello before he comes and seeks me out demanding to know why I didn't try and find him.' Ames shared a knowing look with the older couple before he led his wife off across the room.

'Well, on that note, I believe it's time for a dance, don't you agree Maxie?' Alec said, and Max looked up and nodded. 'Sorry to leave, we must talk later, but right now the music calls.' He smiled at the older woman one last time, leaving her fluttering her eyes, before he swept Max out onto the dance floor.

The scene held a strong sense of déjà vu for both of them as Alec lead her around the dance floor in a waltz, before they slowed eventually to a simple sway in time to the music. Once again, they were lost in each other as they leaned closer, but this time there was no Rachel to stop them. She'd given her blessing. There was nothing to stop them, Alec thought as his lips met hers. Then all thought was gone, and his world was Max, and only Max. The one thought in his mind was _dear god don't let it stop_. He pulled her up against him, and his tongue darted out, seeking entrance to her lips, and she granted it when…

'Alec'

Max was positive she heard him growl as he tore himself away from her and turned towards the offending voice. She followed his line of sight and was shocked, to say the least, at the sight of Ben, standing there looking scared. Alec seemed to notice too, because he stopped looking angry, and suddenly looked worried too.

'What's wrong Ben?' he demanded. Ben looked around at all the couples who were now dancing around them, before he stepped closer.

'It's Abbey. She's missing.'

A/N: please let me know what you think!! I always love reviews, and if you bug me, I will write more! This chapter stands as proof.


	7. Chapter 7: Special Agent White

Disclaimer: I wish I wish I didn't squish that fish. Ooops, I mean, I don't own it.

A/N: hey! Another chapter, woo hoo! Hope this lives up to standards!

Chapter 7: Special Agent White

'It's Abbey. She's missing.' Alec literally felt his heart stop for five seconds before it started again. Then he practically charged at Ben, who backed up a step involuntarily.

'What do you mean she's missing? How can she be missing?' Alec demanded, pulling Max behind him once again as he started walking next to Ben, as opposed to at him. They left the house in silence, and quickly hopped into the waiting car. Ben didn't speak again until they pulled up in the car park their building.

'She didn't come back from work today. She told Blade that she had a late meeting and she'd meet him back at the apartment. She never showed. She was supposed to be going out with Jordan, and you know she'd never miss something like that, especially not without calling. Man, he's going crazy.' Ben said, his low voice and his eyes clear signs of his worry. Alec's reaction was the same.

'Shit! How the fuck could this happen? She didn't tell him who she was meeting with?' he demanded, and Ben shook his head.

'No, she wouldn't say. But he said that nearly everyone had gone home, and one of the people still there was Wendy. I'm pretty sure it was her. Blade said that they looked like they were getting pretty close. She apparently latched on to Abbey pretty quickly, and you know her, she's always looking for someone to help.'

'Yeah, I know. She's so trusting; I've told her so many times that while we're still working for Manticore she needs to be more careful. She disappeared either during or after this meeting with Wendy White? Who would have a problem with them…? Fuck!' At first Max thought that he had realised something, but then she heard the crash followed by loud swearing. Blade's voice was swearing, and Jordan's was simply yelling. Alec ran out of the elevator even as the doors were still opening. Max and Ben looked at each other before running after him, following him into Jordan and Blade's apartment. The sight that greeted them was Alec, ducking blows and kicks from each side as he stood between Jordan and Blade. Ben rushed forward to try and pull off Jordan, while Max ran towards Blade. They spent about two minutes pulling, Alec still between them, to no avail.

'Ben, where's everyone else?' Max asked as she pulled on Blade.

'Honey went to find Biggs and Sash, they're still at work, so are Drac and Steve. This is ridiculous!' Ben all but shouted the last words, but for all the effect it had he might have not said it at all. Max looked at Ben, and silently agreed with him. She kept pulling on Blade, despite how useless it was. Jordan kept throwing punches and kicks around Alec, and it seemed like Blade was only too eager to pay the favour back, and they were both still yelling.

'How could you let her out of your sight? How could you just let her go off with someone without even knowing who it was? You should've gone with her!' Jordan was yelling.

'What was I supposed to do? Force it out of her? Follow her? You know Abbey, she would ask for help if she thought she needed it, and she would've killed me if she though I was keeping tabs on her.' Blade shouted back. 'You know I would have stopped her if I could've, but she told me she would be fine, that she'd be home in less than an hour.'

'Sure, it's real easy for you, isn't? You don't have to worry about Gem, she's all safe, tucked up back at Manticore.'

'Screw you! You think she's safe there? You think I don't have to worry? She's carrying my child and they're just gonna take it from her once its born, but god knows what they'll do to her in the mean time. So fuck you! Don't tell me I don't have to worry about her! Abbey's been taken by a regular human, they won't be able to throw anything at her that she can't handle, not like Manticore.'

'STOP!!' Alec yelled the word so suddenly and he was so loud the Jordan and Blade stopped simply out of shock. The four of them looked at Alec and Max felt a tiny tingle of fear race down her spine when she saw his eyes. 'This is fucking stupid!! Abbey is out there somewhere, my guess is White's got her, and instead of tracking his ass down and beating on him, you're beating on each other. Jordan I know you're upset about Abbey missing, but Blade's right; if she wanted to do this alone, there's nothing he could've done to stop her. It's not his fault, so there's no reason to yell at him. Tell me exactly how the HELL that is supposed to help get Abbey back?' The he turned on his heel and walked back out the door, leaving the room in silence.

'Uh… should someone go after him?' Ben finally asked, and the three men turned simultaneously to look at Max, who rolled her eyes, and shook her head, but walked out after Alec. She turned towards their apartment, but changed her mind and walked up towards the stairs that led to the roof. She found him standing looking over the city, just like she'd been doing a week earlier. She walked over to him, and stood next to him, and waited for him to start.

'Guess the mission's gonna get fast tracked now. At least I got the whole Rachel thing under control before…' Alec trailed off. 'Well, I guess Renfro shoulda picked a better team, huh? One that doesn't have a screw up for a CO? What _was_ she thinking? I bet she's gonna be kicking herself now. Or celebrating cause she wins, she was right; I am weak.' If Max didn't know better, she would have said he was drunk, the way he was acting. But he wasn't, and she wasn't about to let him start blaming himself, either.

'Cut the crap Alec. You're not a screw up and you know it. You know it's not your fault that Abbey's missing. It's because she got too close to Wendy, and if anything, that just proves that White is the evil son of a bitch we all thought. So you what? You need to get back downstairs, come up with a plan and then we're gonna go get Abbey back and kick White's ass. Or maybe more.' Alec turned around, finally, and walked towards her.

'I will get her back, and I will kill White.' He told her, and again she felt the tiny tingle of fear go back up her spine once more as she looked into his eyes; though this time it was more out of anticipation than fear. She nodded, but other than that, she didn't move an inch as he came closer. She let him tilt her head up with his finger tips, and then she felt his lips brush hers. It was gentle at first, as if he was hesitant, and so she took control and reached up with her hands and brought him down closer. He followed her lead and deepened the kiss, coaxing her lips open with his tongue. She responded in turn, and she moaned into his mouth as his hands roamed her body. She pressed herself into him, and for a few minutes they lost themselves in each other, until the need for air won over and they broke apart. Max looked up at Alec, and couldn't help the small sigh that escaped, or the small smile that crossed her face, which Alec returned until he finally broke the silence.

'As much as I would love an encore of that, you're right. We need to get downstairs, work out a game plan. Honey should be back with Biggs and Sash by now.' He sighed, and put his hand against her cheek, before he dropped it and moved away. Max sighed too, before she followed him down the stairs.

Down in their apartment they found Ben, Sash, Biggs, Honey, Jordan and Blade all sitting around the living room. They all looked up as Max and Alec entered, and Alec returned all of their gazes before he started.

'Look, Abbey's missing, and the last thing she was supposed to be doing was meeting a colleague, and since she wouldn't tell Blade who it was, I'm assuming it was Wendy White. Which naturally leads me to think that White's the one who kidnapped her. According to Blade, they were getting pretty close, and if White got suspicious and followed her or something, then he probably took Abbey. Which is kinda a good thing, but also kinda not. We know who has her, but we don't know what he wants from her, or where she is. Which is why we need to wait for Steve and Drac to get back from their shift at White's. If there's anything to know, they'll know it, but you all know we can't hold our breaths waiting for info from them. But whether or not we get info from White, we will get info.' He turned and looked directly at Jordan. 'We _will_ get her back, or I swear I'll die trying. We don't leave family behind. Now, enough of the mushy stuff, I've had _way_ over my quota for the week. More like my quota for a _year_. So let's get to work.'

They planned for the rest of the night, waiting for news from Drac and Steve. They poured over maps of the cities, diagrams of potential holding places, and when Drac and Steve finally arrived home, they had no news, good or bad. Days passed and they made up and rejected at least 10 ideas daily.

They spent nearly two months living the lives of their new identities during their designated times, and continuing the search for Abbey when they weren't. But all their leads seemed to bring up nothing. Blade reported that Wendy had returned to work after three days of absence, sporting a few new bruises, and kept to herself even more, and he never seemed to be able to hold a conversation with her for more than thirty seconds. And she always seemed to be looking over her shoulder. Jordan, Honey, Steve and Drac heard nothing during their shifts at White's house; whether it was because they were new, or because none of the guards knew, they still weren't sure; but they were working on bugging the house, which was proving to be a lot harder than they thought. The guy was more than a freak; he was a paranoid, obsessive freak, which in Alec's book, made him even more dangerous; paranoid, obsessive freaks had a tendency to shoot first, ask questions later, which wasn't good for any of them, especially Abbey. Ben and Sash were having the same trouble at work with him, although Biggs seemed to be starting up a friendship with him; Sash gave credit to the fact that they were both pigs, which Biggs had laughed at. Alec had agreed, but said that as long as one of them was getting close, it didn't matter how.

And lastly, he too was making some headway with White. Although he continued to dismiss Max each time they met, he seemed to be taking a shine to Alec, especially after one night when, at a party, Max had 'stepped out of line' and Alec had 'put her in her place'. It had been one of the hardest things for either of them to do, but to their credit they had pulled it off without a single grimace or snort between them. Alec figured if they could handle that, they could handle anything White threw at them.

But so far, they hadn't gotten close enough for White to be able to throw anything at them. They were all stumped, and nothing they did seemed to bring up any clues. But tonight they were hoping everything would change. Steve and Drac had managed to figure out the pattern in how White had his house scanned for bugs; the seemingly random choice of rooms actually had a pattern to it, and it was simply a matter of bugging the rooms just after their last sweep to get optimal time in, and with the plan they could move the bugs around to avoid detection. The tricky part was getting the bugs in; they were scanned before every shift, which was where tonight came in. Max and Alec were invited to attend a dinner at the White's family home along with a few other couples, which they took as a very good sign.

Max's dress for the dinner had been chosen very carefully, with the plan being that the bugs would be hidden in it. And of course, the beading and diamonds, along with all of her jewellery, would hopefully be enough to provide a reason for setting of the detectors, as well as hiding the small transmitters. They were banking on the fact that the detectors weren't all too advanced, surprisingly, and they had it planned perfectly so that Drac would be one of the guards scanning tonight.

Max looked up from the schematics of White's house and wiring system and saw the clock. She had less than an hour to get ready before they had to leave. She raced into the bathroom, leaving Alec alone with the diagrams. When she stepped out into the living room 45 minutes later in search of Honey, Alec actually felt his jaw drop; she was wearing a floor length white gown, with hundreds of tiny beads and diamonds on the bodice section, which clung to every inch of her, showcasing her curves excellently. It was a halter dress as well, and the neckline plunged to give him a generous view. And when she caught him staring, he was surprised to see a tiny blush creep across her cheeks.

'Hey, uh, have you seen Honey? She's supposed to help hide the stuff on me.'

'Uh, I think she was in her apartment, getting the stuff. Drac had it, so it was probably in their room.' Then Honey walked into the room.

'Damn Max, look at you. Now how come she got the role where you get to dress up in pretty dresses every other night, and I get stuck hanging out with a bunch of big, surly, bald guys all day, who think they're god's gift to women. And who all try to prove that theory by hitting on me, no less. I swear, if one of them grabs my ass one more time…'

'You're gonna give them a fake smile and ignore them, like a good little soldier who doesn't want to blow the mission.' Alec finished for her, and in response she tested out his instructions on him. 'See, now that that wasn't so hard, was it? Well, I'll leave you two alone to do your thing, and I'm gonna go get ready.

10 minutes later Honey was securing the last bug into place in Max's dress when Alec walked out of their room in one of his suits. Max felt her jaw mimic Alec's earlier actions to a T. He looked gorgeous, to say the least. She was almost positive she was drooling, and it wasn't that she hadn't seen him a suit before; she'd seen him in them a few times a week for the last month and a half. It just seemed that every time she saw him all dressed up, her reaction got stronger. Go figure. His small chuckle brought her out of her daydream quickly though, and she gave herself one last check before she grabbed her back and walked out of the room, leaving Alec to follow behind her, after saying goodnight to Honey, and getting a good luck in return.

They arrived at White's mansion 25 minutes later, and as usual Alec assisted Max out of the car. The driver pulled away from the curb as Alec lead Max up the steps to the front door. He rang the doorbell, and they waited for the door to open.

'So, this is it. Seems kinda, anti climactic, don't ya think?' Alec said, managing a grin despite his nerves.

'Yeah, I keep thinking, this doesn't seem so hard, especially with Drac on door duty. But, not to sound superstitious or anything, but I kinda don't wanna jinx it, you know?' She turned to face him now, and gave him a small smile as the door opened. He lent in and gave her a quick kiss before turning to meet the person at the door. Lucky for them, it was Drac and another security guard, Adam.

'Mr and Mrs McDowell?' Drac asked them, and Alec nodded, so he stepped aside and waved them through with his hand. 'Now, we just need to check you for any electronic devices; simply procedure, I'm sure you understand.'

'Of course, you can never be too safe these days.' Alec said, as they got their small scanners out. Drac walked over to Max, while Adam moved towards Alec. Needless to say, Alec passed without a hitch, while Max had the scanner beeping almost from the moment it was turned on.

'Oh, sorry, it must be my dress. Alec tried to warn me I'd have trouble with it when I brought it, but I couldn't resist. It was just so pretty, but I guess the beads and diamonds and all the metal holding them together are probably messing with your little scanner thing, huh? Oh, I'm really sorry, I guess I should listen to Alec next time, right sweetie?' Max was greeted by Alec's huge eyes; he was clearly as astounded as her that she had managed to get that all out while keeping her voice all girly and not laughing. But he managed to get his composure back almost immediately, and stepped back into his role.

'Yes dear, I told you you should have listened to me about you outfit. Why a dress needs to have that many beads _and_ diamonds on it is beyond my comprehension, but I guess I just have a weakness when it comes to my wife and her looking gorgeous. Now, are we done here?' He asked, his voice the same detached tone White's was whenever he talked to a woman. Drac put his scanner back in its spot, but didn't move away from Max.

'Just a minute, Mr McDowell. I'm sure you understand I just need to check your wife, standard procedure.' Alec sighed and nodded, and Drac started a search of Max, although he obviously didn't find anything. Although, the way Honey had hidden the bugs, it would have been hard for anyone to find them among the beads and diamonds. He finally finished, and with a nod to his partner, ushered them through to the next room off the foyer. He left them with another nod, and then a maid came in to greet them, taking their coats before showing them into the living room, where White was waiting with his wife and the other guests.

'Alec, we were just talking about you, what kept you? We heard the bell ring minutes ago.' White said, as he walked forward to greet him. Alec gave him an easy smile.

'Sorry, Ames, it seems that my wife's dress didn't agree with the metal detectors, too many beads and diamonds and everything holding them on. I told her it would cause problems and it was unnecessary, but she had her heart set on it. I have to admit it, if I have a weakness, it's my Maxie.' He gave her a fond smile, and patted her head, and despite her urge to punch something, she smiled back and batted her eyes. Alec actually had to hide his laugh with a fake cough. No one seemed to think too much of his cough, White simply gave him a pat on the back and lead him over to the bar in the corner, leaving Max to bring herself into the room. She walked in further, and decided to seat herself next to Wendy, who was sitting alone on a couch. She gave her a small smile, but made no other contact, for now. Max sat still and quiet for nearly half an hour while the men made small talk over their drinks, and it almost killed her. She noticed that all the women were like that; none of them spoke unless spoken to, not even amongst each other. And most were near their husbands, nodding along with what they were saying, but otherwise not making any indication of being a part of the conversation. The whole scene made her want to gag, and she had to keep herself from catching Alec's eye for fear she actually would start laughing.

Finally, the cook came out and announced that dinner was ready to be served, so the party moved through into the dinning room. White sat at the head of the table, or course, and Wendy sat beside him. Max was surprised when she saw that he had placed Alec at the other end, Max beside him. He had clearly taken a liking to Alec, which was good for them. It meant they were playing their roles very well. She shared a look with Alec as they both braced themselves for the night ahead.

'So, Alec, how's the business doing?' White asked from the other end of the table. 'Alec is in computers.' He informed the other guests, as servers began to move into the room with the first course.

'Oh, it's going fine, you know. The move back to America has been good, there's a lot of demand, which is always good, isn't it?' he smiled at the lady sitting on his other side, who blushed. Max played along, giggling and putting her hand lovingly on Alec's arm. In turn, he gave her the barest of glances before looking back at White. 'Anyway, right now I'm actually looking to expand the company, to include things like security systems, cameras and other such things. I'm particularly excited about the new security system we're working on, it should be excellent. It's basically going to be a security system, plus a security team all rolled into one small program, and about ten times as efficient.'

'Really? That sounds fascinating, when do expect it to be ready?' White asked, interest clear on his face.

'Well, I'm aiming to have a prototype in about three months, and then once that's done, it shouldn't take too long to have it ready for the public. I plan on having it in my house.'

'Three months? That's very ambitious, don't you think, young man?' One of the older men, Donald, he thought, asked him from the middle of the table. He gave him an easy, confident smile before he answered.

'Well, some might say it's ambitious, but I've never been one to sit around and wait for things to come to me. I prefer going out and getting what I want, and as Maxie could tell you, I usually succeed.' Alec told him, and after a heartbeat of silence, all the men were laughing, while the women gave quick, soft giggles.

The dinner continued in the same fashion, the men talking and making jokes, barely acknowledging their wives. Max wanted to punch each and every one of them. But instead she resigned herself to bugging his house, which is what she was about to do. So, sometime during dessert, she leant into Alec and made a show of whispering in his ear. He had already excused himself to the bathroom, and had gotten the feel of the surrounding rooms. He nodded his head, then cleared his throat.

'I'm sorry, we'll be right back. My wife needs to go… freshen up, but her sense of direction isn't too good, and I'm afraid if I let her loose in your house I won't see her again for weeks.' He laughed as he stood, then came around to help Max up. She tipped her head towards White, as if to say 'sorry' before following Alec out of the room, leaving her head down until they cleared the room. She followed him down the hall and they slipped into the bathroom. They quickly got to work removing the tiny bits of technology from in amongst the beading, a job that Alec found very infuriating.

'I know they weren't supposed to be found, but did she have to make them so goddamn hard to find? Do I look like a seamstress or something to you?' She picked up easily on his frustrated tone, and as much as she wanted to respond in the same tone, but there would be time for that later, once everything was in place.

'Come on, quit your complaining, we're done. That's the last one. Come on, we got about a minute to these in place before White gets suspicious.' They left the bathroom and she looked around. 'And where's Drac? He's supposed to come get some for the other end of the house… ah, speak of the devil. Here you go, good luck. See you at home.' And he was off just as quickly.

'Come on, let's go. You take that end, I'll go this end. Less than a minute and counting.' Max nodded, and they both became blurs. They were out of each room before the doors had time to close behind their entrance, as they knew exactly where to put each bug. And with Drac handling the other end in a much slower fashion, as well as the few rooms upstairs that they were bugging, and Max and Alec's part was over less than forty-five seconds later, as they strolled casually back into the dinning room. Alec held Max's arm, and was leading her back towards her chair as he spoke.

'Sorry to keep you so long, she was determined there was a bead missing from her dress and I had to assure her there wasn't.' Once again Max batted her eyes before ducking her head. She watched White as Alec sat her in her chair and took his place at the head of the table again.

The dinner continued as it had before their trip to the bathroom, and Max continued to keep a careful eye on White, in the disguise of admiration, and she could see the approval in his eyes each time Alec controlled her with a gesture or a quick whisper in her ear, every time she 'stepped out of line'. She exhaled loudly once they were safe in their car, and heard Alec's laugh as she sat with her eyes closed.

'What are you laughing at pretty boy? God, I'm so glad to be out of that mausoleum!' She opened her eyes at his continued laughing, and attempted to glare at him.

'Oh, come on Maxie, it wasn't that bad, was it?' he asked through his laughter.

'At least you got to talk! Do you know how many times I almost corrected those old farts about technology? They wouldn't know a computer chip from a regular, food chip, the idiots. Oh, and White! With the controlling Wendy and ignoring the women all night like they weren't even there! And the way he talked about his son, never once mentioning Wendy, like she had no part in his birth or raising him. Like he was really the one who carried him around for nine months and gave birth to him. Yeah, I'd like to see him do _that_, Mr high-and-mighty-FBI-guy. I just want to punch his stupid face in!' Alec sat through her entire rant with a grin on his face, his eyes wide in amusement. When she paused for breath, he spoke up.

'Wow, Max, I don't think I've ever heard you say so much at once. Have you? Ever? Seriously?' He was pleased to see the small smile on her lips, and he put an arm around her shoulder. 'I know the feeling Max, I wanted to do more than punch the guy in the face, but trust me, we'll get the satisfaction soon enough. But for now, we'll have to settle with knowing that we successfully bugged the guy's house, and he'll never know, at least, not until it's too late. Hah' Alec allowed himself a small laugh, before his thoughts turned to Abbey. Max noticed his sudden mood swing, and put a hand on his.

'We will get her back. She'll be with us when we go back to Manticore. She'll help us make fun of Cece, Gem and Ariel for being pregnant and missing out on the mission and not being here to help us out, and this will all seem silly. We will get her back.' Alec looked at her, and nodded, then grinned.

'Wow, you're just full of the speeches tonight, aren't you? I swear, none of the others are gonna believe that this many words came out of your mouth in one night… hey!' he folded his arms and slid away from her on the seat when she hit him, and pretended to be extremely offended by turning his back on her slightly and tilting his head up slightly, staring out the window.

'What? Are you gonna ignore me for the rest of the night?' Max joked at his back, and when he didn't respond at all, her eyebrows shot up, not that he could see them. 'Not talking either? Wow, miracle of miracles! Peace and quiet, how nice.' She gave a content smile, and sat back to watch Alec, waiting for him to cave. Surprisingly, he still hadn't said a word when they pulled up at the apartment building. He got out, and came around to hold the door open for Max, as usual, but he still didn't say anything. By the time they reached the apartment, she was extremely confused.

It was a silent Alec and a stunned Max who came through the door to be greeted by Ben and Sash, who were curled up on the couch together watching TV.

'Hey! I assume it all went well if you're here in one piece?' Ben's smile became a frown when neither one answered him. 'Uh, guys? Guys!' He stood up, moved over to them and waved his hand in front of them, and finally got Max's attention.

'What? Oh, yeah, everything went fine on our part, don't know about Drac, but nothing was wrong when we left, so I assume he went fine.'

'So, what's up with Alec? Why's he so silent?' Sash asked, as Max and Ben moved forward towards her. Then she saw Alec grin behind Max, and mouth _I'm playing with her_, and then he turned and walked into their room, before Max answered.

'I don't know, he just stopped talking. I mean, we were in the car and I was talking, and he made a joke about how much I said at one time, and then I hit him, and he was pretending to sulk, so I said something about how he was ignoring me, and then he didn't answer, so I said something about him not talking and how peaceful it was, and he hasn't said anything since, it's really weird. I'm actually worried. It's just not normal, and I…' she trailed off as she turned and saw he was gone. 'Where'd he go?'

'I think he went to your room.' Max turned and followed him, leaving Ben and Sash alone.

'Huh, do you think we should've told her he's playing with her?' Sash asked Ben, looking up at him.

'Nah, she'll figure it out soon enough, or he'll cave.' They started laughing, and turned to their own room, closing the door behind them so Max, and Alec, wouldn't hear their laughter, among other things.

When Max came through the door, Alec was in the process of stripping, and he was down to just his pants. She stopped just inside the door, and gave in to a little girly pleasure and watched him take off his pants before he slid into the bed. If he saw her staring, he gave no indication as he reached for his book and started reading. She watched him for another minute before she went to her side of the room and collected her shorts and singlet top that made up her sleep wear. She took it into the bathroom, and emerged five minutes later, and slipped into the bed next to Alec. She turned on her side, back to him, and waited for him to turn of his light. He did, nearly ten minutes later, and she felt him shift so he was lying comfortably on his back.

'So, you were checking me out earlier, huh?' At first, Max thought she'd imagined it, but then she felt him shaking in silent laughter.

'Are you…? You were messing with me, weren't you?' She turned around now, so she could see his face while she yelled. 'You let me think I'd really upset you, I was really worried! And you just sat there in the car, and stood there listening to me tell Sash how worried I was, and I was definitely _not_ checking you out earlier, I was worried! I don't know why I bothered though, I should've known you were just being you usual obnoxious conceited self, you stupid…' She was stopped when Alec's lips pressed against hers, and after a stunned second, her brain switched gears and she responded, letting him roll her on top of him. She wrapped her hands under his head, pulling him closer. His hands roamed down her, exploring her. She arched under his touch, and moaned into his mouth. She pressed herself against him, and rubbed herself against him, and it was his turn to moan. She smiled against his lips, and turned her head obligingly when he started trailing kisses up her jaw. He smiled at her moan when he reached her ear and nibbled gently. She tipped her head towards him, and he took that as an invitation to continue.

'Like that, huh, Maxie?' He whispered softly into her head, and she murmured her agreement. He worked back to her mouth, and as he kissed her, he rolled them over so she was pinned beneath him. He looked into her eyes and smiled before he bent his head and started trailing kisses down her body. She closed her eyes in pleasure, and he continued on his way, when their door slammed open.

'Hey, we got something… oh shit! Sorry, oh crap, I didn't realise, but Honey's monitoring the mics and… I'll be leaving now.' Alec turned to look down at Max as Biggs left the room, closing the door behind him, and his laughter.

'You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say there were all doing this deliberately to bug me.' He laughed as he lay his forehead gently on hers. 'Ugh, this is just perfect, just perfect. Typical, even; the fates or the gods or whoever it is, they just have it out for me, I swear.' He paused for a moment, and just held her. 'Ah well, let's go. It must be important if Biggs came racing in here without knocking.' He rolled off, and reached for his pants, while Max did the same.

Max and Alec walked into Biggs' apartment a few minutes later, and saw everyone, minus Drac and Steve who were still at work, crowded around small table pilled with electrical equipment.

'So, what's up?' Alec asked, and everyone turned to look at them.

'Well, I've been listening to the different channels, and I heard White talking to one of his top guards, in the guest library of all places, and he was talking about _the girl_ and he mentioned another name, and I wrote it down, but no one here recognises it; it's Kingston. Does that ring any bells for either of you?' Alec looked at Max as he shook her head, and she did the same.

'No, I've never heard it before. Well, we'll just have to keep listening, hopefully he'll say more. And in the meantime, Biggs, Sash and Ben can try and use their FBI clearance to see if they can find anything. But uh, guys, if you all have to work in the morning, can I suggest you all go to bed? Cause I'm guessing White's gonna go to bed soon, so there won't be anything interesting tonight. Max and I'll take over tomorrow morning, ok? Great, now go get some sleep. You won't be any use to us if you're half asleep.' They all moved off, as did Max and Alec.

They walked into their room and Alec shut the door behind them. They both stripped back down to what they had been wearing earlier, and got back in bed. They turned to each other, and they both laughed softly.

'So, I guess the mood was kinda ruined, huh? Well, I guess it's probably a good thing we didn't get further then we did, I guess it's not really the best time, is it?' Alec said, and Max closed her eyes, laughing at herself, Alec and the whole bloody situation that was their lives.

'Yeah, I guess you're right. God, why'd it have to be Biggs? He's never gonna let up now, is he?' Max buried her head in his chest and just laughed. He joined in, and for a few minutes, they just held each other while they laughed. They eventually stopped, and they lay there for a while until Max spoke again, her voice almost a whisper. 'Is this ok?'

'Is what ok?' he asked, looking down at her. She turned her head up towards him.

'This… to be lying here with you, laughing and feeling good, when Abbey's out there somewhere, god knows where or what he's done to her. Is it ok to feel good and safe?'

'I think we need to be able to laugh and feel good, cause if we didn't, we'd have spent the last two months all up tight and probably at each others throats, and that would have been worse. And you know what Abbey would say if she was here and she saw us all like that cause she was missing.'

'Yeah, she'd sit us all down like we were preschool kids and tell us all off, in her own way. And we'd probably feel worse than is she'd yelled at us. I just want her back, and I wanna get this bastard.'

'I know, me too. Me too.' Alec pulled her in closer, and held her, and that was how they stayed the whole night.

Three weeks later, Alec and Max were sitting in Honey's apartment listening over the tapes, looking for anything they might've missed. Drac and Steve were asleep in their rooms and everyone else was at their jobs, although they were due back soon enough. They'd had no breakthrough so far with the name Kingston, and they hadn't heard White mention it again, so they weren't even sure it was important, but since it was all they had, they were looking, and looking hard.

They were still going an hour later when Blade, Honey and Jordan walked through the door. Honey looked around, before checking her watch.

'Where're Drac and Steve? They can't be still sleeping, can they? Jeez, they went to bed the second they got home. Don't they have work tonight?'

'Nup, White called, said they weren't needed tonight; so naturally we're keeping tabs on him even more tonight. So I guess we're all here tonight, won't that be dandy? Just gotta wait for…' he was interrupted once again by Biggs throwing the door open. 'Well, you just like cutting me off before I finish, don't ya?' He laughed, but stopped when he saw the expression on his face. 'What's up?'

'I found it, I found Kingston.'

A/N: Soo? What did ya think? Sorry about the ending, I couldn't help myself!! Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Please please please tell me what you think!!


	8. Chapter 8: Heroes Returning

Disclaimer: sorry, it's still not mine! So don't sue me

A/N: hey, sorry it's taken a little longer than I thought it would, but yay!! It's here.

Chapter 8: Heroes Returning

'I found it, I found Kingston. It's a building out of Seattle in White's name, but it's an old building, run down, so it wasn't easy to find, cause you know, no one really cares about it. I mean, it looks abandoned from the outside, but you know it's probably all done up on the inside. But I got it.' The room was silent, and he looked around at the group. 'I'm being totally serious, I found it.'

'You found Kingston? Are you serious?' Jordan asked, his voice quiet, yet still echoed in the quiet.

'Yes, I found it. Seriously. What, do you honestly think I'd joke about this? I know you guys think I'm the clown of the unit, but dude, give me _some_ credit.'

'Well we have to go. What are we waiting for?' Jordan demanded loudly, looking around just as Drac and Steve came out of their rooms, looking tired.

'What the hell is with the yelling people? Some of us were trying to sleep.' Steve said, glaring sleepily at the group.

'Biggs found the building where Abbey's being kept, and I was just wondering why we weren't on our way. And no one was yelling.' Jordan told him, glaring at Alec.

'And I was just about to tell Jordan that as much as we all want to get Abbey back, we can't rush in there without a plan, cause we could end up getting her killed as well as ourselves. We need to check out the place, get the layout and figure out who's doing what. Is that ok with everyone?' Alec looked around at the group, as if daring anyone to challenge him. They all knew he wasn't looking for an answer to the question, and none of them would be stupid enough to try.

'That's fine, Alec. So we better get a move on, cause one way or another, we're getting her back tonight, cause we're all here.' Sash's voice was low and calm, but full of authority. Alec gave his consent with a nod of his head, and they all moved around to start planning.

'Blade, Biggs, Jordan and Sash; weapons. Honey and Drac; comms and everything electric. Ben and Steve, look over the building plans, try and determine where she'd be, and what our best chances for entry and exit are.' Everyone moved, except Ben, who was still looking at Alec. 'I know I'm extremely good looking Ben, but is there still a reason why you're looking at me? You could always try a mirror, you know.'

'What about you and Max?' He asked Alec, and Max now looked questioningly at Alec as well.

'Yeah, what about us?' She wanted to know, and he sent her a quick grin before turning his attention back to Ben.

'We are going out to the building, for surveillance. We'll meet you guys there in two hours, ok? So you better all get to work.'

'Yes sir!' rang out, before everyone turned back to their jobs. Max followed Alec out of the apartment, and down the hall to theirs. They both packed some equipment into two backpacks, and they changed in to black gear.

'Ready?' he asked Max, as they stepped out of the elevator and into the dark car park.

'I was born ready, wasn't I?' She asked with a small smirk. She started to head off towards where their cars were, but he pulled her in the other direction.

'No no, not tonight, Max. Tonight, we chauffeur ourselves. And in style.' He led her to green motorcycle, and although she didn't think it could hold a candle to _her_ baby, it wasn't too shabby. And it would get them there quickly. So she shrugged her shoulders and hopped on the back, waiting for Alec to hop on in front of her. Then she wrapped her arms around him, and held on as he took off out of the car park. As soon as she felt the wind blowing around her, whipping her long hair about, she lost herself momentarily in memories; memories if long rides with no destination, of the freedom her bike represented to her, and the sheer thrill of going fast. And Alec was going very fast.

Alec could feel the wind on his face, racing around him as he sped down the almost deserted roads of Seattle. He smiled as he felt Max's arms around his waist, her body pressed intimately against his. But his smile soon faded as his thoughts turned to Abbey, and he pushed all other thoughts from his mind. For the next few hours, his mind needed to be solely on Abbey and getting her out alive. He sped up, and leaned forward.

Max felt him shift, and stiffen slightly, and she knew his mood had changed. _Abbey,_ she thought, and as her thoughts moved to Abbey, her mood changed too. For now, they needed to get to the building and scope it out. There would be time for riding free later, once they had Abbey back.

Back in the city, Jordan and Blade left the apartment and headed for theirs, where they had more weapons.

'I can't believe it. I mean, after all this time, it seems so easy now that we know where she is.' Jordan's voice was low and incredulous. Blade looked up from his various knives, and studied Jordan for a minute.

'I know what you mean, finding her was the hard part, getting her back will be a piece of cake now. I'm glad we're gonna get her back. And, as crazy as this sounds, I'm actually glad we're going back to Manticore.' He grinned at Jordan, who looked confused, for about a second.

'Ariel, right. Yeah, I can imagine. But we should be home by the end of the week, at the latest. God, I almost forgot, the babies. They're gonna be huge!' They smiled, then returned to the task at hand; sorting out guns and knives. They were almost done, with a small pile for each person, when they heard Drac shouting from the other apartment. They looked at each other before they jumped up and raced out of the room.

Honey and Drac were preparing everything electrical their team would need that night, when Drac overheard something coming from the small box sitting next to them. He dropped what he was holding and reached for one of the sets of headphones. He put them on, and listened to the conversation coming through them.

'_I want her dealt with tonight. She's been there almost three months, and we still don't have anything out of her. She won't be of any use to us. I just wish I knew how many more there are of them. What was Manticore thinking sending some of their_ things_ to spy on me? They want a fight; I'll give them a fight.' _White's voice was coming through loud and clear into Drac's sensitive ears, but he kept listening as someone responded.

'_Yes sir. The car will be ready in five minutes. I assume you will want to be there?'_ Drac recognised the voice as belonging to the chief of security for White; Andrew Scott.

'_You assume correct. I want to see the light go out of that bitch's eyes. Tell the boys to have her ready in an hour.'_ Then he heard their footsteps and a door close.

'Shit!!' Drac's yell reached the entire unit, even Blade and Jordan who were next door in their apartment collecting more weapons. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and after sharing a look with the person next to them, moved quickly to the source of the yell.

'What is it Drac?' Jordan demanded, coming in last, behind Blade.

'It's White. He plans on killing Abbey, tonight. He's gonna be at the building in less than an hour.'

'Fuck! We need to get down there.' Jordan said, but as he started moving, he was stopped by Ben, who he glared at. But Ben just glared right back before he spoke.

'Wait. What about Alec and Max?'

'Hey Alec, how far are we from the building?' Max called over the wind.

'We'll be there in about ten minutes, then we can hide the bike, and work on a plan, until the other get here.' He yelled back, and a few minutes later, he took a right and went a few hundred meters before he pulled over and stopped the bike. Max hopped off, then Alec. He pushed the bike into the surrounding forest, until it was hidden from view. When he came back out, Max was staring up the road, and he followed her gaze until he saw it; the big old, dilapidated building.

'There it is. Huh, all the work we did the last three months and it all comes down to this; an old, dilapidated pile of crap. You know, for an evil lair, or whatever this is, it's really not all that impressive. You know, this place _better_ be high-tech inside, otherwise I'm so gonna be ragging on Abbey for a month! Hey!' he gave Max an indignant look when she hit him over the head, then laughed at her raised eyebrows that clearly stated _what?_ She shook her head, then turned back to look down the road.

'Come on, let's go check out this place.' She said, dragging him down the road.

'Still no answer. They must be out of reception, so they can't be near the building yet, cause we know that has reception.' Drac hung up the phone for the fifth time and looked around at the group surrounding him.

'Look, we need to go. We'll keep trying them on the way, but we need to get down there. It'll be no use if we get through to them, but we're not there to help them. So everyone get what you have and meet in the car park in 5.' Sash told them, easily stepping into the role of SIC.

They were all downstairs in 5 minutes, and Sash quickly split them up into two groups, each going in one car. Drac kept calling, every five minutes just like clockwork. But he still wasn't getting any answer.

'Alec, see that row of windows there? Up in the top left corner of the building?' Max and Alec were sitting up a tree near the edge of the forest, each at a different level looking at different parts of the building. Alec turned his head in the direction Max told him, and spotted the windows in question.

'Yeah, I see them. They'll make a good entry point. Second floor, back of the building, empty room. We can send a couple people through there; Ben and Biggs maybe, they're both pretty good with heights and they'll be able to get in there from the roof. Now, we figured out that Abbey's most likely in the third room on the right, bottom floor. I'm thinking we send Jordan and Sash in through the back, take care of any guards back there. Then Drac and Blade can go in the right, Steve and Honey in the left and you and I can go in the front. We'll go in first, distract the main group of people, draw them to the front of the building, away from Abbey.'

'Sounds good, when do we get to go in?' Max asked jokingly, smiling down at him.

'I know you're eager, but we can't go in alone. I mean, we are trained soldiers who excel in most every field, but even so, two against about twenty or thirty, probably not the best odds. Speaking of waiting, where are they? Why haven't they called?'

'I don't know.' Max said as she reached into her backpack and pulled out her small phone. She flipped it open and swore. 'Shit!'

'What?' Alec looked up at her questioningly.

'I forgot to turn the damn thing on' she told him as she hit the power button. The first thing she noticed was the number of missed calls. She quickly hit the call button, and looked down at Alec as she waited for Drac to answer.

'_Max? Where are you? What's wrong, why haven't you been answering? Never mind, look White's planning on having Abbey killed _tonight. _He's on his way there now, he wants to be present. He's got a good fifteen minutes on us, he'll be there in about five, ten minutes, and he wants her ready for him when he gets there. We won't make it in time, even with Sash and Jordan driving.'_

'That's so not good. We need to get her out of there.'

'_I know! But you and Alec can't go in by yourselves, it would pretty much be suicide.'_

'I know that, but try telling Alec that once he knows. Look, just get here as quickly as possible. And listen; when you get here, send Ben and Biggs in through the second floor, set of windows at the back, top left corner. Jordan and Sash in the back, bottom floor, you and Blade bottom right, Steve and Honey bottom right. They come in closest to Abbey, so tell them to focus on getting her out.'

'_Ok. And Max, be careful, and watch Alec's back, ok? Cause sometimes he forgets to do that for himself, what with the trying to back up everyone else.'_

'Sure. See you soon.' She hung up on that parting, and looked down at Alec, who did not have a happy expression on his face. 'Alec, White's ordered Abbey to be killed tonight, and he's coming down to watch. He'll be here in less than five minutes, and he wants her ready on arrival.'

'What? That evil, sick son of a… There's more, isn't there?' he demanded when he saw her face. She nodded slowly.

'The others are about fifteen minutes behind them, so they won't get here in time. We need to go in, but we won't have any back up.'

'Ok, Sash, you're going in the back of the bottom floor with Jordan, Biggs and Ben'll go in the top floor, back left windows. Blade and I, bottom right, Honey and Steve bottom right. I'll call Ben and tell him the plan, he can tell the others. Blade can split up the weapons and Honey the electronics in that car, Steve and I'll do this car. And Sash, step on, can you? Let's not make them wait any longer then they have to.'

'Ok, hold on.' Was all Sash said as she pressed her foot down, and watched the odometer move further to the right.

'No way Alec, not happening!'

'Max, it's happening if I say it's happening, alright? I don't say it much, but I _am_ still your CO, and as said CO, I am telling you it's happening the way I say. Got it?' Max's answer was a swift kick to the head from above him as she followed him down the tree.

'I don't care if you're the queen on bloody England or whatever, you're NOT going into that building alone. Got it?' she mimicked his tone exactly, and he almost laughed. Almost. He glared up at her as he landed on the ground.

'Careful soldier, or I'll tie you up. Now, you might not agree with the plan, but it's my plan and it's the only one we've got, so you'll go with it.' He started picking his weapons out of his backpack as he spoke, and so didn't see the fist until it was too late.

'It's not the only plan we have, but you're so pigheaded and _male_ that you won't accept the alternative.' Max told him from her standing position above him.

'And you're so pigheaded and _female_ that you won't accept _my_ plan. We've been over this Max; I'm going in, you're staying out here to wait for the rest of the unit to arrive, to give them the layout of the building, and where they'll be going in.' He picked himself up off the ground, and moved around her, keeping his eyes on her at all times.

'NO! Get it through your thick skull; I'm not letting you go in there without backup. The others have their orders, and they will be here soon. Now we need to stop arguing, because you know it's pointless, and we have to go get Abbey back.' Their head whipped around towards the building at exactly the same time as they heard the tires on the gravel driveway. They both watched as the black car pulled up to the front of the building and White stepped from the back seat. Max reached into her own backpack, and pulled out her weapons, but she held up a hand as Alec started to protest. 'I'm going in with you Alec, I know it, you know it and the unit would all know it if they were here. Now let's go kick some ass, huh?'

'Fine, let's go. Ladies first.' He indicated for her to go ahead of him with a wave of his hand, and she didn't see it coming. A quick touch to a pressure point, and she was out cold. On a normal person it would last about half an hour, on Max, about five to ten minutes. Enough time for the unit to arrive, he thought. He gave her a light kiss on the forehead and murmured 'Sorry Maxie' before he was off.

'Almost there. Hang on Abbey, Alec, Max; we're coming for you.' Sash pressed down on the pedal harder and forced the car to go faster, and in her rear view mirror, she saw Jordan do the same. Five minutes and counting.

Two minutes later, Max came to on the hard dirt of the ground, and took about three seconds to get her bearings and realize what had happened. _Alec._ Well, he'd miscalculated how long she'd be out, apparently, she figured as she checked her watch. _I'll kill him later for that,_ she thought as she jumped to her feet and blurred to the building. She raced through the open doors, and found herself greeted by the sight of Alec fighting three guys at once, a few already on the floor, unconscious or dead; Max couldn't tell. She raced forward to join in, and her first opponent was the guard who'd been on duty with Drac the night they had bugged White's house. He leered at her, and apparently thought she'd be an easier target than Alec. She dodged his first shot easily, came up next to him, and slammed an elbow into his side, causing him to drop his weapon, as he doubled over in pain. She smirked slightly as she came around behind him, and pulled one of his arms with her, twisting it until he dropped to his knees. Then she brought her elbow down hard on the side of his neck, and he slumped forward.

She forgot about him immediately as she faced her next opponent; a smaller man, but with a lot of muscle, and who seemed to be all about the hands, judging by his lack of weapons. _My kind of guy_, she thought wryly as she raced forward.

She was doing a quick survey of the damage, as Alec finished off the last two guys, when she saw White come into the room, dragging Abbey behind him. She moved forward, but stopped when he turned his gun towards her.

'Oh no you don't, _Mrs McDowell._ You're good, I'll give you that. Oh, you really had me fooled, you two.' White sneered at them, his gun moving back and forth between them. 'You had so much promise, Alec. I really thought you had what it takes to be a real man, but you're just like the rest of them. Letting you're women run wild, doing whatever they like, seeing whoever they like. What _has_ the world come to? And know you're letting her fight with you. And for what? To save this piece of trash?' He indicated Abbey now, who he pushed down onto her knees. 'She's really not worth all the trouble, Alec. Piece of trash barely begins to cover what she is. She's filth; a freak of nature who can't even be classified as human. None of them can. But then again, judging from your display earlier, you and the little missus must be one of them. Did I really warrant an entire team of you freaks? Am I that important to Manticore?'

'No, not really, but you know, they put the assignment up for grabs, and there were just so many of us who wanted the opportunity to kill you that they sent all of us.' Max answered, and had the pleasure of watching his rage grow in his eyes.

'Oh, are you trying to subtly tell me that there are more of you? Should I be scared? Should I run and hide?' He mocked, and so didn't notice Alec inching closer to him and Abbey.

'Well, I wasn't trying to be subtle, but yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Look around you, dick. This was two of us. What do you think ten of us could do? And that was routine. You hurt her, or either of us, well let's just say we can't be held accountable for what the others will do. We're all fiercely protective of each other. See, we care about our family, as opposed to you; you seem to have no problem beating on your wife and son, do you?' She spat back, and that last bit actually seemed to faze him, just a little bit. She smiled, but it was anything but friendly.

'You have no idea what you're talking about. Just shut up, you stupid little girl. Any last words to say to your little friend here?' He asked, as he took a few steps back and took aim at Abbey.

'Well, I have a few to say to you; like are you really that sad that you have to be that close to her to have to kill her? What a _man_ you must be.' Max said, trying to buy some more time until the rest of the unit showed up.

'What, you think you can get to me? Call me less than a man? Dream on little girl.' But Max saw him take a few more steps back before he took aim again. 'Say goodbye.' Max heard the shot, and she saw the blur that was Alec move in front of Abbey, then stop and shudder with the impact of the bullet. Max felt the world slow down around her as she watched Alec's body to fall to ground. She saw the shock and then glee on White's face, and that was when she felt something snap inside her.

Max heard an odd, high pitched noise, but it wouldn't register until much later that it was coming from her, as she raced forward to White. He barely had time to move the gun so it was pointing at her when she punched him square in the face. She had the satisfaction of hearing the crunch that was his nose breaking. Her other hand came up and twisted his right hand until the gun dropped to the floor. She watched with empty eyes has his face contorted with pain, but she kept twisting until she heard the snap. She let go when she saw the angle his hand was at, and her lips came up in a smile, that put terror in White's eyes.

She lent over him as he lay on the ground holding his hand. And then she just started punching. Her fists were moving so fast he couldn't avoid them, and they were hitting anything they could reach, especially his face. Then she started kicking. He let out a whimper when she got him between the legs, but that only seemed to egg her on more.

All of a sudden, she stopped and closed her eyes. Then she opened them and looked down at him, bent down, picked him up, and threw. She walked after him, watching him hurl towards the wall. She gave a small noise of satisfaction when she heard the thump and watched his limp body slide down the wall. She stopped when she was once again standing over him, and after a second, she bent down and started punching for all she was worth. She kept punching even when she felt the strong, gentle arms come around her and start to pull.

'NO! Get off me! He deserves to die, he killed Alec, he tried to kill Abbey. He killed Alec.' The last bit came out barely above a whisper. When she spoke again, her voice was strong. 'He deserves to die.'

'Max, Alec's not dead.' Ben's voice came from behind her, and his words stilled her hands, for about two seconds.

'He deserves to die.' Was all she said as she started punching again.

'Max, Maxie I think he's already dead. You can stop now.' When that didn't work, Ben twisted around to look for help. 'Biggs, Drac, come here.' They hurried over, and one on each side and Ben behind, they managed to pull her off White's now unidentifiable body. They carried her over to the other side of the building, and lay her down gently, as Honey walked over to them.

'Is she ok?' she asked gently, kneeling in front of her. She ran her hands gently over her, checking for injuries, as she looked up at Ben, Biggs and Drac. 'Do you know what happened?'

'No, I just found her pounding on White, after he was dead. She seemed intent on punishing him for killing Alec.' Ben told her, and Honey's head came up from her inspection of Max.

'What? But he's not dead.'

'Yeah, I know, but I don't think she did. She must have attacked him as soon as Alec was shot. I'm worried, though. This isn't Max; she doesn't like killing people, but she seemed to be almost enjoying it.'

'Yeah, it was actually kind of… scary.' Biggs said, and they could all tell that he wasn't joking. They all froze when Max started laughing. She looked up at them, still laughing and with and odd look in her eyes that had them all moving back a step.

'Haha, I scared Biggs. Isn't that funny? I scared all of you, ha. And I killed White. Not even killed, I pulverised the man! And I liked it. And all because…' she stopped, and they all moved closer, cautiously. Suddenly she changed. 'We have to contact Manticore, get a retrieval unit down here, get Alec and Abbey out of here and back to Manticore. And we need to take care of the others…'

'Max!' Sash's voice cut Max short, and she looked over, startled. 'It's all under control. A unit's on its way, they'll be here soon. And they're taking you, too. No, don't even think about it. You have some nasty wounds there. None of fought, we're all fine. You guys got rid of everyone before we got here. We'll stay behind to clean up after ourselves, here and at the apartments, be back by the end of the week.'

'But…'

'No buts, you'll do it. I'm in charge for now, so you'll do what I tell you, is that clear soldier?'

'Yes ma'am!' Max said, saluting Sash out of habit. She sent Ben a half hearted glare when he laughed at her, then sat on the cold floor, and curled into herself and shut them all out.

15 minutes later, they heard the whirring which signalled the arrival of the chopper. Sash and Biggs moved out to greet the others, and came back followed by four soldiers and two medics. They moved towards Abbey and Alec, and Max could hear their voices, but couldn't distinguish different words from each other. She didn't notice Ben lead one of the medics over to her, until she felt them lifting her head up, opening her eyes and shining a small light into them. She flinched away, and then she felt the floor disappear from under her as someone lifted her up and carried her out to the chopper. She saw Ben's face as he lay her down, saw the concern in his eyes before he turned away, and it wasn't until they had left the ground that she realised she was lying next to Alec's prone body. She recoiled away from him, until she could go no further, then she squeezed her eyes shut and didn't open them again until she felt herself lifted up again.

She was carried into the med bay, and put on a bed, and she lay motionless as she watched the doctors moving around her, and the other bed, which contained Abbey. She heard them asking questions, but couldn't bring herself to answer them. They moved around her like a dream; a dream she desperately wanted to wake up from, but couldn't.

The next four days passed the same way; doctors coming in and out, asking questions, prodding, injecting, running tests, but getting no response from her. On the fourth day, they started getting concerned, as they had only ever seen this happen to one other X5 before; X5-494. They were talking about moving her to psyops to see if they could do anything, but on the fifth day, Max woke up and was the perfect soldier. The doctors were wary, and asked endless questions.

'State your designation.'

'X5-452, sir!'

'What do you last remember?'

'Going to sleep last night, sir!'

'Do you remember the last four days?'

'Yes sir! I was here in med bay for evaluation following my unit's mission to Seattle to eliminate an Ames White. The mission was successful sir, no casualties on our part, thought there were a few from White's side. X5-494 was shot, potentially fatal if not for our SIC's quick action. X5-221 was retrieved, her condition not too bad. She was brought in for observation, along with 494 and myself, due to my unit's concern after finding me in the warehouse after having engaged in combat with multiple men.'

'Do you remember what you did to Ames White?'

'Yes sir! I terminated.'

'Do you remember how?'

'I hit him repeatedly and threw him into a wall'

'You also broke his hand, and apparently continued to hit him after he was deceased. Do you know why?' she finally hesitated at this question, although only for a second, but enough for the medic to pick up on.

'No, sir. I must not have realised at the time that he was already dead.' The doctor seemed to consider this, and Max was sure he wasn't going to buy it, but finally he nodded. But if she was surprised by his action, she didn't let it show. The questions continued for nearly an hour before they decided that she wasn't pretending.

'Very well, 452, you are free to go back to your cell. The rest of your unit has returned, and you will join them tomorrow, in your usual schedule.'

'Yes sir!' She saluted him, then turned and left the room. She relaxed a little once she was out of the med wing, and she made her way over to the building that housed her unit. She stepped into the building, and acknowledged the guards as she walked past them, until she was near her cell. But before she could get there, she was ambushed by the entire female half of her unit.

'Max, are you ok? Did they release you?

'What did they say?'

'Did you see Alec?'

'Do you know how he is?'

She stopped outside her cell and turned to face them. They fell silent in expectation.

'They said I could come back. I didn't see Alec. I'm tired; I think I'm going to go to sleep for a while.' She turned back around, and walked into her cell, leaving them behind her, confused and even more concerned.

Later that night, during their rec hour, Ben, Biggs and Drac were sitting around together, for the first time in nearly a week. They were discussing Max.

'I don't know man, did you see White? I mean, the autopsy reports were one thing, but just looking at his body… That's not something I ever expected from Max.' Drac looked up at Biggs, who nodded in agreement, before speaking.

'I know. Man, very few things have ever scared me, and you know some of the shit we've seen, but I wasn't kidding when I said she scared me. I mean, her eyes… they were empty.'

'That kind of rage… I can't begin to imagine what she was going through. I thought, at first, that I recognised the look, but even I didn't. I know what it's like to think someone deserves to die, and to take pleasure in killing them, but not like that. She didn't even realise she'd killed him.'

'What triggered it?' Biggs asked.

'Alec.' Drac answered, surprising both Ben and Biggs.

'Alec?' Biggs questioned.

'Alec. She loves him, I just don't think she realises it yet.' They all turned and looked at Max who was in the corner, working on a punching bag.

'She thought he was dead.' Biggs said, and Ben nodded, bringing his attention back to Biggs.

'Yeah. She kept saying _he killed Alec, he deserves to die_. She must have rushed him seconds after he fired. How did you know?'

'He was the same. Every rec hour he was in that corner, beating on the bag. And every day he picked a fight with at least three of us at different times. But as soon as we started hitting back, he stopped defending himself, so we were just beating on him. We figured out pretty quickly it was his way of punishing himself, so we started ignoring him, refusing to help him beat up on himself, until he eventually snapped out of it. Although I think Sash might have had something to do with that. She went to see him one evening before lights out, and the next morning, he was himself again.' They all smirked at this, and looked around at Max again, in time to catch her leaving the room.

'I think it's gonna be Alec that gets her out of this.' Ben said quietly.

'I wish him luck and good health' Biggs said, and they laughed.

'Speaking of good health, Cece, Gem and Ariel all look normal and healthy, surprisingly.' Drac looked at Biggs expectantly.

'Yeah, well, it turns out that they couldn't transfer the embryos, or whatever they wanted to do, so they had to carry the babies, but they didn't want them out of use for too long, so Cece said that when they hit the 6 month mark, they induced labour, cause it's ok then, or something. I don't know, I wasn't exactly paying attention to the details, to tell you the truth.' He grinned, and they all laughed as they let the conversation turn to a lighter topic.

When Alec was released from med bay two weeks later, Max was still no different, and the unit waited in silence as they saw the two of them heading towards each other as they both headed for the table where the unit sat. Max stopped when Alec did, and slowly lifted her eyes until they were looking straight into his. The wave of emotions hit her so hard and fast she had to look away, and take a deep breath before turning back to him. But now, he saw, she had her perfect soldier's mask in place.

'Max?' was all he said, his voice barely above a whisper in fear someone would hear. She swallowed and took another deep breath before answering.

'It's good to see you up and about, sir. I'm sure the unit's glad to have you back.' She turned so quickly that she missed the stunned look on Alec's face, and as she kept her eyes glued to her food tray as she sat, she missed the same look mirrored on the face of every other member of her unit.

A/N: hey, let me know what you think. PLEASE!!! I love getting your reviews, and please tell me if anything doesn't make sense


	9. Chapter 9: Baby with no Parents

Disclaimer: nup!! Don't own it

A/N: ok, I know it's been AGES! But in my defence, I had exams, and then I went away, and I totally forgot that I'd finished this chapter but hadn't uploaded it, woops! Anyway, here it is, so enjoy!!

Chapter 9: Baby with no parents

'Hey man, wait up!' Alec stopped and turned at the sound of Biggs' voice. 'Man, do you know how fast you walk when you're preoccupied.' He told him, with a light glare that broke into a grin after about three seconds.

'Yes, I have been told I walk fast, it's a trait I've been told is very annoying, along with pacing. So, what can I do for you this not-so-fine morning?' He asked as he started walking towards the dining hall, leaving Biggs to follow if desired, which apparently he did.

'So, for some unknown reason, quite possibly because someone managed to kill Renfro or at least slip her something, we can pray, we have the _entire_ day off. What do you plan to do with your time?'

'I was thinking sleep, food and then kicking your ass later in the game of your choice.' He said the last bit with a grin as he looked down at Biggs, who was now looking very indignant.

'Hey, you can stop that high and mighty thing right now, Mr I'm-a-head-taller-than-you. Just cause I'm smaller than you, doesn't mean I can't kick your ass, especially if we play one-on-one dodge ball.'

'I wasn't aware I was being high and mighty, or that I, apparently, have a new name. And I don't think it's a full _head_, Mr I'm-short-so-I-over-exaggerate-everything-to-make-myself-feel-better. See, two can play at that game, and I'm still better by the way. So prepare to be sore.'

'Sore?'

'From all the times I plan on hitting you with the ball later – no dirty comments, please.' They grinned simultaneously as they entered the dining hall. It wasn't quite full; it appeared many people were taking full advantage of the day off by sleeping in. But he saw all of his unit were up and sitting at a table, including Max. He felt his stomach tighten at the sight of her; she hadn't said a word to him since that first day he'd been out of med bay, and it was killing him. He'd tried to talk to her a few times, but he'd gotten absolutely nothing, so he'd changed tactics and had only talked to her as her CO, but even then, he got silence, or at the very most a _'yes'_. He knew that if she kept it up, and the guards started to notice, she'd be sent to Psy-ops, so he was hoping, for her sake as much as his, that she started answering him in the next few days. He saw Ben look up and wave, followed by the rest of the unit, except Max. _Apparently that day won't be today._ He followed Biggs over to collect food, or what passed as food in Manticore, and then they made their way over to the table. There were two empty spots; one on the end, and the one next to it, which was next to Max. Alec shot Biggs a look, and then looked at the chair, so Biggs rolled his eyes but took the seat. Alec sat on the end of the table, opposite Ben, who was now staring at him. He tried to ignore him, but when he didn't relent, he changed tactics and started staring back. It was like staring at himself in a mirror, he decided. They were dressed in identical clothes, they were sitting in the same position, and both were perfectly still, blank expression, their trays of food untouched.

It took Biggs and Sash, who was sitting next to Ben, about three minutes to realise that Ben and Alec weren't talking. They started to watch them, equally confused and fascinated by their staring. Within ten minutes, everyone was watching the pair, everyone but Max. They all wanted to ask what was going on, but their need to see who would win overrode that. But unfortunately, neither won as they both look towards Max as she pushed her chair back, picking up her tray as she stood. Now twelve pairs of eyes were looking back and forth between Max and Alec, who was once again imitating a stone as he watched Max. Max walked the two steps to stand next to Alec.

'X5-452, heading to the exercise wing to workout, sir!' Max stated, saluting as she balanced her tray in one hand. She waited for his acknowledgment, which took him a bit longer while he got over the shock of her actually saying something to him, and after a brief nod of the head, she moved away, out of the room. Alec watched her go, and then turned back to his tray, suddenly very interested in his food. Ben and Biggs shared a look, and played an extremely quick game of rock, paper, scissors. They held out their hands, and Biggs swore under his breath at the result; Ben's hand formed scissors while Biggs' hand was flat as paper.

'Fine, I'll do it.' He muttered, giving Ben an evil eye. He turned his attention to Cece now, who had moved up into Max's seat when she vacated, and they started talking about the game Alec and Biggs had planned for later. When he saw Alec stand, he gave him a three second head start before he rose, giving Cece a quick goodbye and shooting Ben another glare before following Alec out the door.

'Hey man, wait up!' Alec turned his head but continued walking.

'What, is that your catchphrase of the day?' he asked sarcastically, but Biggs picked up the annoyance in his tone. He took a deep breath, giving himself a minute to decide how to breach the subject. He settled for an easy opening comment.

'Just wondering when you want to do the dodge ball thing.' Biggs said with a casual shrug and an innocent look.

'One hour. And don't pull that innocent face crap on me, I invented that, remember? Does this have something to do with you and Ben playing rock, paper, scissors just now?' Biggs shot him a grin and clapped him on the back.

'You know, that's why you make such a good CO. You don't miss a thing. You see everything; know exactly what's going on, if something's wrong. Like, let's say, with Max for instance. Now, being such a good CO, you would know that there's clearly something going on in that odd little head of hers. Now, as someone who is not CO, and who has noticed, I might be a little curious as to why you haven't tried to talk to her or see what's wrong. Now, I don't know, you could have a plan for all I know, but I, not being a CO, was just curious.' Alec stopped and looked at Biggs, an incredulous look on his face.

'Was that your 'trying-not-to-be-obvious-and-failing-at-it-' way of asking me why I haven't tried to help Max?'

'It's possible. See I told you; you're an _excellent_ CO.' Biggs told him with a quick grin, and Alec couldn't help the small grin that flashed before annoyance covered his face.

'Well, as CO I'm telling you that 452 is acting as a soldier is supposed to, and as her CO I shouldn't be complaining.' It was Biggs' turn to look incredulous.

'Well, yeah, but as the person who I walked in on, not two months ago, in a fairly compromising position with said soldier, I would think that you would be extremely concerned about her behaviour.' Biggs saw the emotion flash through his eyes, and was happy to see it.

'Yeah, well maybe I'm just not that person any more.' That got Biggs angry, and pinned Alec against the wall as he made to move away.

'Bullshit. You know, if it hadn't have been for Sash, you'd still be walking around like a zombie too. And now it's your turn to help Max. So get down of your bloody high horse and do something already. A month is long enough for you to give her space.' Biggs released him, smoothed out his top and then stepped back and gave him a salute, although Alec could see the sarcasm behind it. 'Now, I'll see you in an hour for that game, _sir_' Alec sighed as he watched him walk down the corridor. _Guess I have to go talk to Max._

Just as he thought, he found Max in the rec room working on the punching bag. He approached her quietly and she either didn't notice or simply didn't acknowledge his presence.

'You know, you keep it up and they're gonna have to get a new punching bag in here.' He was pleased to see her hands hesitate for a fraction of a second before she continued as if he'd said nothing. 'So, it's weird being back at Manticore, huh? After more than three months outside, it's odd, getting up at the same time each morning, training again. I think the weirdest bit is having to wear the same clothes every day again.' She continued punching, throwing in a kick now and again. 'Hmm, the silent treatment. Interesting tactic, I must say. But if you don't wanna talk, that's fine by me. You know, there are far more productive things we could both be doing right now, instead of talking and punching. Although you'd most likely get just as hot.' _There you go,_ he thought when she turned to face him, a furious look in her eyes. She looked about ready to snap at him, but she seemed to think twice and in a second her eyes were blank again, and she began punching again, with a renewed energy. He decided to try one last thing before giving up. 'You know, I am curious about just one thing; when you're punching that bag, are you picturing my face or White's?'

'You have no idea what you're talking about!' She screamed at him, and then looked about ready to bite her tongue off. She jerked back around and continued punching the bag. 'I'm sorry sir, thankyou for your concern.' Her voice was monotonous and she every bit the perfect soldier as she clearly ended the conversation. But Alec was smiling to himself as he walked away. He had gotten a reaction out of her, now all he had to do was wait.

As he left the room, he didn't notice Abbey, who had followed him and Biggs out of the dining hall and had listened to the exchange between the two, and then Max and Alec. She too was smiling, but for a different reason. She knew the real Max was in there, it was simply a matter of getting Max to let her out. And she knew just the person to help _persuade_ her to do so.

'Max, can I talk to you for a minute?' Abbey said as she approached Max, who was still at the punching bag, completely oblivious to the cheering and whistling three metres away from her. When she didn't respond, Abbey tried again. '452, can I talk to you for a minute?' This time Max stopped and looked up, and Abbey held back a small sigh. It was a very bad sign when Max would only respond to her designation.

'Of course, 221. What is it?' She walked over and sat down on an empty chair, while Abbey took the one opposite her. It was then that Max noticed the woman with Abbey. She was smiling brightly, and had short brown hair and perfect teeth.

'452, this is 884, or Mia as she's recently become known. She's psy-ops; she's just here to talk.'

'Psy-ops?' Max cast a wary glance at Mia, who was yet to say anything.

'Don't worry, she's not here to evaluate or anything, she just got bored with the other psy-ops nerds and so I invited her to come along, watch the game and everything. Who do you think will win?' Max turned to the game for the first time since it had started, and stared at the two men for a moment.

'Statistically speaking, 494 is taller, faster, slightly smarter and therefore a quick thinker, and given the fact that his records give him two to one odds against 511, it is fairly likely he'll win again.' Max stated; rolling of the facts like he was a specimen they were examining as opposed to a real person. Abbey looked at Mia, and nodded her head.

'452 I need you to look at me and listen very carefully, ok?' Max nodded, as her eyes connected with Mia's and started going little hazy. 'You're going to respond to Max again.' Mia told her, giving her a big, sweet smile, and as Abbey watched, Max's eyes went out of focus for a minute, before she smiled back and nodded. 'Ok, good. And the next time Alec talks to you, you will respond with more than one sentence. You won't brush him off.' Again her eyes went out of focus before she nodded. 'Ok, now we have that out of the way, what do you girls think about us having the day off?'

'I'm sorry Max, but I had to help' Abbey whispered in Max's ear before she turned back to Mia.

'Hey man, who's that with Max and Abbey?' Alec looked around until he found the three women, and after a look, turned back to Ben.

'I think that's one of the psy-ops chicks.' Ben raised an eyebrow in question, and Alec answered with a casual shrug of his shoulder. 'I spent some time there. She's a telecoercion specialist; can make people do things, forget things.'

'So what's she doing here? I mean psy-ops people don't usually come to mingle with the rest of us; they're afraid of us, considering most of us hate their guts.'

'True. Uh, I think she came in with Abbey, actually.' Ben nodded, and continued to watch the three girls. He noticed when the psy-ops girl leant over slightly to Max, and said something to her, and then Max nodded. 'That was weird.' He muttered, and Alec turned back to him, eyebrows raised in question.

'What was weird?'

'That psy-ops chick just leant towards Max and said something, and Max did this weird nod thing, I don't know…' He trailed off, and looked back at Alec, who had narrowed his eyes slightly.

'She did, did she? What are you playing at Abbey?' He muttered to himself, but when Ben started to ask him, he just shook his head and turned back to the game at hand.

Max started responding when the unit called her Max, although she was still rather stiff when talking to them. She didn't start conversations, and she still kept her part of the conversation to a minimum, but as a week passed, and then another, they all started to notice small signs of Max; a smile here, and quiet laugh there. But there was still something missing; her eyes were still the blank eyes of the Manticore mask. And unfortunately, the one person who would be able to put that sparkle back in her eyes was currently avoiding her. Since the day Mia had spoken to Max, Alec had barely said five words to her, excluding her designation. And so Mia's instruction went unheeded, much to Abbey's frustration. But any time she tried to bring the conversation around to Max, Alec was gone in a second, with something he had to do. Finally, one day about two weeks after the conversation, Abbey managed cornered Alec outside the gym.

'Alright buddy, what's going on?' she demanded, poking him in the chest at each word, emphasising her point. He gave her an annoyed look, and absently rubbed his chest.

'Uh, it's called the _gym_, Abbey; it's where people come to work out, exercise etcetera.' He said slowly, and earned a glare and a punch in the stomach for his efforts.

'You know what I'm talking about, mister. So don't play dumb with me. Now, why aren't you talking to Max?'

'Um, if I remember correctly, and I'm pretty sure I do, she stopped talking to _me_. I was simply following her lead. If she wanted to talk to me, she could have. On _her own volition._' He added, eyebrow raised as he looked down at her. After a quick urge to look away, she cleared her throat.

'Don't know what you're talking about.' She said innocently.

'Yeah, like I'm gonna fall for that. The psy-ops chick? Do you know what Max'd do to you if she found out?'

'Yeah, well they way she's going, she never gonna care anyway. So I tried to help, give her a little push so she'd be a little bit more open towards us. Is that so bad? At least I'm not ignoring her!' She was on the verge of yelling now, and any guards or superiors could walk past and she wouldn't care.

'If you care to think about it, I stopped talking to Max the day the psy-ops chick had her little chat with her. I refuse to talk to her if it's not her talking, if it's just the psy-ops mind warp talking. So you have your little friend undo whatever she did, and then I'll talk to her, ok?' Without waiting for her answer he spun around and stalked into the gym, letting the doors bang behind him. Abbey stared at the doors for what seemed like an eternity, letting his words sink in. Finally, she let out a small smile. She hurried to find Mia, and Biggs. Both would be intricate in bringing her plan to life.

'Abbey, tell me again why we're down in the maternity ward at midnight?' Biggs asked for the hundredth time as they crept along the dark corridor that let to Manticore's idea of a nursery.

'I told you, I have a hunch, and I wanna see if I'm right.' She told him without looking back.

'Was your hunch that the maternity ward has _babies_ in it? Cause if it was, I can tell you, you are spot on.' She sent him an exasperated look over her should as she quietly opened the door and checked for any guards. Apparently, though, the guards thought that since the babies were underground, and needed top security clearance for access, they didn't need actual guards. _Idiots,_ she thought. She came to a stop and turned back to look at Biggs.

'I'm looking for one baby in particular. You remember Cece telling us about that conversation they heard between Renfro and some random a few months ago? About how disappointed she was that Max wasn't pregnant, and how much they wanted the baby made from her and Alec? Well, I'm thinking that since she knew she wasn't going to get it from the two of them, she probably just went straight ahead and made one herself.' She smiled at the look on his face; his jaw had gone slack and his eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head. It was almost comical.

'You… you think… 946! God, it never clicked before. All the babies; their designation comes from adding their parents, and then subtracting 1000 if the numbers if bigger than 1000, but anyway. Cece and I never figured out who 946 came from, cause she couldn't remember anyone else being pregnant. I always knew she looked familiar, but…'

'So I was right. 946, that's 452 and 494 together, if I'm not mistaken, which I rarely am.' She looked at him expectantly, and sighed when he gave her a blank look. 'Lead the way, Biggs.'

'Right, uh, this way.' He led her to the right and stopped about 15 metres down the corridor. They looked through the glass window, and saw five babies sleeping in a row. They were all identified with numbers, and at the far left, Abbey saw the one she wanted; 946. Biggs was right, she looked like her parents. She had brown hair that was already thick and slightly curly. She would be beautiful, and Abbey had a hunch that when she opened her eyes, they'd be hazel like her dad's.

'Bingo.' She whispered, shooting Biggs a smile.

'Hey, Alec! Man! WAIT UP WILL YOU!' Alec finally came to a stop and turned to look back at Biggs, who was running down the corridor towards him. 'Seriously, if someone calls you once, you stop. And don't even try to say you didn't hear me.' Alec didn't say anything; he just looked down at Biggs, a look of impatience on his face. Biggs seemed to pick up on this, so he continued quickly, 'Anyway, I thought you should know, Abbey and I were just down in the maternity ward, and well…' he trailed off, unsure how to say the next bit. Nothing he and Abbey had practiced sounded right to him, and now he wasn't sure telling Alec now was the best idea. _But it's all you have,_ he thought. So, in true Biggs style, he decided to grin and bear it. 'Look, there's a baby down there, it's in the room with the babies from our unit, only Cece and I could never figure out who's it was, cause no one else was pregnant, and well, I guess we were always too preoccupied to try and use her barcode to figure it out, but Abbey… well, Abbey figured it out last night. Alec, she's got brown hair and hazel eyes and her designation's 946.' He let the information sink in, and watched Alec's eyes widen in realisation, and his jaw dropped, his reaction similar to Biggs' earlier.

'946? As in… 452 and 494? You mean… but Max and I… she was never… Renfro?' Biggs was able to decipher his non-sentences, and almost laughed. _Almost_. He wasn't in the mood to get a beating from Alec.

'Yeah, we think Renfro wanted your baby so badly that when she didn't get one the natural way, she just made one herself.'

'She… that sick bitch. Bad enough she forces us to have sex and get the girls pregnant, but when she doesn't get the baby she wants, she just takes our DNA and makes it herself? I have to see her… no, I have to tell Max first. No, not yet… shit!'

'Oh, by the way, Abbey wanted me to tell you that she spoke to Mia yesterday, and she undid whatever she did.' Biggs smiled innocently up at Alec, who nodded slowly, then turned and headed off. He turned back at the end of the corridor and looked back at Biggs.

'Thanks for telling me. And Biggs? These babies won't grow up here.' Biggs nodded before Alec turned around again and walked out of his sight. He went to find Abbey, to tell her it was done. If anything could get Alec talking to Max it was finding out they had a baby. And Alec would get Max talking. _By morning_, he calculated in his head, _we'll have them both back to normal._ He grinned to himself, before ducking into an open doorway as a guard walked passed. _Yeah,_ he thought to himself,_ things will be back to normal very soon._

A/N: so, hope you liked it. Review, let me know what you thought. The next chapter will be up very soon, I'm just going over it.


	10. Chapter 10: Babies need protection

Disclaimer: ok, I didn't own it yesterday, so I don't own it today

A/N: ok, despite my serious issues with typing and spelling the last week or so, this chapter is pretty good, hopefully. Hope the update was quick enough for you. Read on

Chapter 10: Babies need protection

Alec stalked down the corridor, not noticing the transgenics and guards alike that jumped out of his way. He was going to get Max to listen to him no matter what it took. He reached her cell and was glad to find her door was open. He stormed in, and found her sitting on her bed, doing up her boots. She looked up when she heard him come into her doorway, and he saw the confusion and then panic in her eyes. She stood, though, and saluted him. He growled, and took some pleasure in seeing her instinctively flinch away from him.

'Max, stop saluting me. This isn't you, you're not a perfect soldier; you hate Manticore.'

'My designation is 452, and I was created for Manticore.' She answered, and Alec stormed forward, taking her by the shoulders and giving her a shake.

'NO!! Your name is Max, you hate Manticore and if you don't snap out of this bloody funk right now I will not hesitate to kick your ass, do you understand me?' When she simply stood there and looked at him, he pushed her back down onto her bunk and turned around. He started pacing back and forth in her cell, three steps forwards, swivel, three steps back. 'God this is so ridiculous Max. What the hell do I have to do? Talk to me Max!'

'I don't understand, 494, what do you want to talk about?'

'Oh, I don't know Max. How about we start with the mission?' He saw the flicker of pain in Max's eyes, and smiled as he continued. 'Do you remember the mission, Maxie? Abbey went missing, then you killed White. Do you remember Max?'

'Yes, he shot you and…' she faltered for a second before she continued in a strong voice; 'and I killed him. I completed the mission, just like Renfro wanted.'

'You weren't like this before you killed White, do you remember?'

'I… I was a bad soldier then. Now…' she, faltered, trailed off, and looked down at the floor.

'And now what, Max? This isn't you and you know it. What do I have to do? How am I supposed to help you when you won't talk to me, when you barely even look at me? And I don't even know why! What have I done? Tell me why you won't talk to me! You've barely said five words to me since we've been back in Manticore; that's nearly two months Max!! Well it stops now! There's no running away this time, Max. I want answers.' Alec told her, as he blocked her exit from her cell. She looked anywhere but at him, until he stepped forward, and captured her chin with his hand, forcing her to look at him. 'No more running.' He watched as something in her eyes changed, as her resolve seemed to snap, and then the damn burst.

'FINE! You want to know why I haven't talked to you? You could have died Alec! You could have died, and I never had the chance to tell you… You just ran in there, no thoughts for yourself, or the unit or… or me!! You just went in, completely disregarding the plan, and the fact that you had no backup and you almost got yourself killed!!' Max's outburst stunned Alec, but not as much as the tears that started to fall as she looked at him. When she spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper. 'I thought I lost you, and I was more scared than I've ever been. I lost people before, or thought I'd lost them. I thought I lost Ben, I thought I'd lost Logan ages ago, I lost Zack, and none of that compared to how I felt when I thought you'd died. When I saw your body drop, and I thought you were dead, my world literally stopped and I didn't know why, and it scared me. Alec, you saw White, or photos of him at least; but did any of the others tell you that it was me who did that to him?' He shook his head, not understanding why she was asking him that. 'I saw him shoot you, and I thought you were dead, and it was like I lost control. I couldn't stop myself, worse, I didn't _want_ to stop myself. It took Ben, Biggs and Drac to get me off him. I think I scared them, but I really didn't care, as long as White was dead. Hell, I kept beating him long after he was dead. And even when they told me you were alive, I still didn't care that I'd killed him, because he could've killed you. I was _glad_ he was dead.'

'Why Max?' He thought he knew, but he needed to hear it.

'Because he could have killed you, I though he had.'

'No, that's not all. I don't think Sash, or Biggs or any of the others would have done that. Why did you? Especially when you're against killing?'

'BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!! Ok? Is that what you wanted to hear?' She screamed at him, but instead of moving away from her like she expected, he moved closer, gathered her close in his arms.

'Yeah, that's exactly what I needed to hear. I love you too, Max.' Was all he said before he pulled her into him, his lips crashing down onto hers, all his pent up anger and frustration, and passion coming through the kiss. Max responded equally with her own pent up feelings, and she moaned into his mouth when he pushed her against the wall of her cell. His hand was snaking around her back when the cold of the cell wall brought him back to reality. Swearing, he turned around and looked at the open cell door. Max looked at him, puzzled, and then followed his gaze to the open door.

'I guess that could pose a little bit of a problem, couldn't it?' Alec looked down and saw her smiling slightly, and he reached out and pulled her close to him again, his need rearing its head again. He was kissing her as he led her over to the doorway. Without breaking contact, he indicated she should reach out and signal that she wanted the door closed. She complied, and as they moved out of the way, the door slid closed behind them. Even as the door clicked closed, he had her up against it, his hand once again under her top, feeling her soft skin. She arched against him, moving into his touch, as his hand slid higher. She let out a soft whimper as his hand cupped her breast. She brought her hand up into his hair, and brought his lips down to hers. He kissed her long and hard, pushing against her more, until he finally broke the contact. She groaned at this, but he only chuckled as he stepped back, and lifted the hem of her shirt up. Smiling at his intentions, she stepped towards him, lifting her arms to allow him to lift the shirt up and over her head. He tossed it behind him, and before he could do anything more, she was following suit. He smiled when she sighed in appreciation as she ran her hands over his now bare chest. He caught her wrist in her hand, and brought it up to his mouth. She stood there as he trailed kisses lightly down her arm, over her shoulder and back up her neck. When he nibbled lightly on her ear, she gasped which turned into a moan as he continued to nibble. Then he moved back down and kissed her.

As he was kissing her, he managed to nudge her boots off, and she felt her pants sliding down her legs. He lifted her up, and carried her to the bed. While she was lying there, looking up and watching him strip out of his own pants, she smiled. He knelt above her and his hands started working her way down her body, and she realised, when his hands reached her breasts, that somewhere along the way he had removed her bra. All thoughts left her head as his mouth followed his hands. She moved under his hands, and she felt him reach her panties. He slowly pulled them down, still following with his mouth. Once he'd discarded them, he came back up her legs, licking her inner thighs higher and higher until he heard her sharp intake of breath. He quickly replaced his mouth with two fingers, and expertly he brought her to her first orgasm in a long time. As she came back down, she smiled at him, promise in her eyes, as her hands reached between them and stripped off his boxers. Her eyes widened only slightly, and he grinned at her reaction. But his grin faded as she stroked him, and considering his previous arousal, it took less than a minute for him to be ready, and she in that short time she too was ready again.

She guided him to her, and she moaned low and long as he slowly slipped inside her, pausing when he was fully inside her. He ducked his head and kissed her as he started moving back out. She met his movements thrust for thrust. He trailed his hands down her again, savoured the feeling as she started to shudder around him. He moved faster and faster now, and he bent down to capture her lips as she started to moan. She broke the contact of their lips as she came, with a loud, low moan. She gripped his arms tight as he continued moving in and out of her, until they were both spent. His head rested on just above her chest, rising and falling as she took deep breaths.

'Can you move?' Alec tilted his head and opened an eye to look up at Max.

'Give me a minute' She smiled and laughed.

'Not complaining, it was just a question.'

'Oh, then no, but it's definitely a good kind of not being able to move. You?'

'Same. I haven't felt that good in… well, a very long time.'

'Really? A long time, huh?'

'And here I was thinking you were going to harp on the good part.'

'I was getting there. So, I was just good, huh?' He grinned and he shifted slightly so he was looking at her.

'Maybe a bit more than good.' She played with his hair as she spoke, and her grin matched his.

'Just a little bit more than good, or a lot more than good?' He urged, his face taking on a wounded puppy dog look.

'Ok, it was fantastic. Best sex I've ever had, and in a very short amount of time we're going to do it again, so you better be ready.' To his credit, he only looked shocked for a minute before he once again grinned. There was a hint of something in his eyes, and before she had time to decipher it, he was kissing her again, as his hands once again went to work.

'Max, when I came here earlier…' Alec stopped and she looked up at him.

'You mean before we yelled at each other and had lots of great sex?' She asked, grinning as his hand ran through her hair, and he smiled at the comment.

'Yeah, before the great sex. Well, I didn't just come here to yell at you, I actually had to tell you something.'

'Well?'

'Earlier, Biggs and Abbey were down in the, well nursery's a loose term for it, but still. They were down in the nursery, or maternity ward's what Biggs called it, I guess. Anyway, they were down there, and when they were looking at the babies from our unit, well there were five. Biggs said he and Cece always noticed, but never really thought about it cause they were always looking at their baby.'

'Of course. But who does the… Alec? She didn't.'

'Yeah Max, we're almost a hundred percent sure she did. 946, hazel eyes, brown hair. They think Renfro got so frustrated that you weren't getting pregnant that she went ahead and whipped up one of her own. The baby wasn't there as early as the others, it was just there one day, and it's smaller than the others, so it was probably taken out earlier than the others.'

'It?'

'Well, they don't know the sex of the baby, but, oh Biggs was referring to the baby as she, so it's highly likely it's a girl.'

'A girl? We have a daughter?'

'Oh god, I never thought that. It didn't click.' She smiled softly, and they lay there together for a few minutes in silence before Alec spoke again. 'Max, let's go see our baby, huh?'

'Yeah, let's go see our baby.'

'Are you sure you know where you're going?' Max whispered as she looked around the dark corridor.

'Yes Max, I know where I'm going.' He rounded a corner, and they faced a door. 'See, here we are.' They went through the door and they were in the maternity ward. 'Uh, Biggs said our unit was down the right corridor, about 15m down.' They took the right turn and came to a stop in front of a glass window.

'683, Ariel and Steve have a boy.' Max said, looking at the numbers above the babies' heads.

'075… Oh, Biggs and Cece have a girl too.' Alec indicated the next one along.

'So 034 is Gem and Blade's… they have a boy.' As soon as Max said this, their heads turned to the last baby.

'946… oh god, Max…'

'I know, your eyes. She has your eyes.'

'Yeah, and your hair. Max, she did it. She made our baby. I…' He seemed at a loss for words, and she could see the anger, understood it. She reached between them and took his hand in hers.

'I know Alec, I know. I knew she was a cold hearted bitch, but this, who knows how many others she did this to… you know what this means, Alec.' She looked up at him, and he nodded once.

'This means war. We're getting out, but we're taking them down first.' She saw the hard glint in his eye, and she recognised it from when White had Abbey, when he was taunting them.

'One condition.'

'What?'

'Renfro's the last to go. I wanna see her watch her precious Manticore burn. And I wanna be the one who kills her.' Now that hard glint was mirrored in her eyes, and it humbled Alec to see it. She frowned when his lips turned up in a smirk.

'What?'

'Is it wrong that you're turning me on right now?' He asked, and she swatted his head. 'Hey!' His protest died when the same hand curled in his hair and pulled him down for a kiss.

'I'll take that as a no then.' She kissed him again, smiling.

'You can take that as a hell no. Alec, there's nothing more we can do here tonight. Our girl's safe for now. Take me back to my cell.' He was only too happy to comply. Really, who was he to deny a very hot, very turned on Max?

'Max, I'm gonna go round up the guys, can you find the girls for me? Also, find the CO of units 4, 5 and 7, and get Abbey to fetch Mia. Tell them to be in the Rec room in half an hour.' Alec stood in her doorway, facing her. She nodded, and as he turned to leave, she grabbed his hand, and pulled him into her cell. He looked confused, until her lips met his. The kiss was soft and sweet, and she felt herself start to go limp in his arms, so she pulled back.

'Uh, better stop there before a guard walks past. Or worse, one of the girls. You go find the guys, I'll get the girls. See you in half and hour, _sir_.' She added the last bit, and a salute, as a guard walked past her cell. Alec, sensing the guard behind him, nodded and turned briskly, before giving the guard a curt nod and heading out of the corridor.

'Hey, Sash, have you seen Gem or Honey?' Max asked the blonde as she appeared in the doorway of her cell. Sash looked up from her spot on the bunk and shook her head.

'Not since last night, why?'

'I just need to tell them something. By the way, Alec needs us all in the rec room in half an hour. If you see any of the girls in the unit, tell them. Thanks.'

'Drac, Ben, I need you in the rec room in half an hour. If you see any of the other guys, tell them, ok?' Alec told them as he breezed past on his way to the barracks.

'Sure, do we get to know why?' Ben asked, even as he walked away from them.

'Yeah, when we're all there.' Alec called back over his shoulder, before he pushed open the door and walked into the building.

'What do you think that was all about?' Ben asked, looking at Drac, who shrugged.

'With Alec, who knows? But if he's in that much of a hurry, it must be important.'

'Maybe he's gonna announce to the unit that he and Max finally did it.' The started to laugh, but Drac looked up suddenly as he saw Max striding across the open area towards Abbey, a small smile on her face. Ben followed his look, and when Max laughed, they looked at each other in shock. Then they shook their heads, and laughed.

'Nah.'

'No way.' But when Max laughed again before she turned and walked away, their faces creased in thought.

Half an hour later, the entire of unit 6, plus the COs of all the other units, and a representative from Psy-ops and the other special divisions were all sitting around in the rec room, waiting for Alec.

'Does anyone know why Alec wants us all to be here?' Mia asked, her voice sugary as usual.

'Yeah, and why'd he insist on us being here on time if he's gonna show up late, or not at all?' This came from a large lizard-man who was head of the dessert division. He sat next to a small, white man who was representing the arctic division. They were also there on behalf of the water division, and some of the other special transhumans who were one of a kind.

'You're here because I have something to say. This might not sound like it concerns all of you, particularly the special divisions, but I assure you it does. As most of you know, a while back a few _rogue_ X5s broke in and blew up the DNA lab in the hope that Renfro wouldn't be able to make more of us. And you will also know that this wasn't the case; Renfro set up the breeding program instead. She got some results, as the maternity ward proves. I can say, with quite certainty that she didn't get results from me and my partner. But, surprisingly, there is baby down there, with the other three babies from our unit, that none of our women carried. Her designation is 946. The only combination of designations that makes that number is 494 and 452. 452 herself can tell you that she never carried this child, and I can swear that there is no way I could have gotten her pregnant when this child would have been conceived.'

'Oh my god' this came from Drac, at the back of the group.

'I know, even for Renfro it's…'

'You were right, Ben, they totally did…'

'DRAC!' Alec's voice cut through Drac's, and made a few of the gathered people jump. Drac looked at him innocently.

'What?'

'Thankyou for your input to the discussion, but I can assure you it's not necessary at this time.'

'Well, I was just going to point out the fact that you said you couldn't have gotten her pregnant _when this child would have been conceived_. Which makes it appear that you would be able to get her pregnant now, and considering the smiles on both of your faces this morning, and the fact that Max is once again chatting to everyone, I can only assume that you are now sleeping together. Ben, care to back me up?'

'Well, usually I'd say no, considering the look on Alec's face. I know the look well, considering I get the same one when I'm about to start hitting people. But Drac's right Alec. Are you going to deny it?' Alec looked over at Max, who rolled her eyes and shrugged.

'Fine, Max and I slept together.' The unit cheered in unison, and when Alec looked at Max, he couldn't help but grin too. But when he looked back at the unit, he had a stern look back on his face. 'Yes, yes, it's all good. Woo hoo, get it out of your system. Now, the _real_ reason I asked you all here. If Renfro is still doing this, taking people's DNA without their consent and making babies… well, I'm not staying here to witness it any more.'

'Uh, question? Renfro had to start making babies the natural way, cause Max and her friends blew up the DNA lab, so… how did she make this baby?' 374, the CO of unit 5 asked. Alec looked over at small woman, and gave her a small smile, but it was Max who answered.

'She'd have been collecting our DNA. They took blood samples from me daily the first few weeks I was here, and they still took more after that. I'm guessing they've taken blood samples from you since then too, Alec?'

'Yeah, a few times. Took a fair bit just after you got here, right before the breeding program. Maybe she was preparing, psycho bitch. Whatever the method, I don't want my daughter being raised here, by that bitch. And I'm sure any of you with children, or who have those in your units with children will feel the same way. I know you special divisioners might not feel the same way, but I'm sure you don't like Renfro. Let's be honest, who does?' There was laughter at this, before the desert division leader stood up.

'What are you proposing?'

'It's time Renfro realised what she's created. It's time we showed her what we're truly capable of. It's time we took her down off her high horse. So?'

'Where do we sign up?'

'Yeah, do we get some sort of formal document declaring war against the sick bitch?'

'I don't know, Max do we have a formal document declaring war against the sick bitch?' Alec looked at Max, amused.

'Not at this point, but I'm sure we can make one up. In fact, that sounds like the perfect way to let Renfro know what she's in for. A declaration of war, signed by the COs, their names, of course, not designations. It'll confuse the hell out of her, and she'll still be sitting behind that desk of hers, trying to figure it out when we hit.'

'One problem, _Max_, we don't have names.'

'You will before I'm finished. Let's see, we already have Mia from Psy-ops.'

'I go by Mole' the giant lizard man spoke up.

'Right, Mole it is. You got a name?' She looked to the arctic division guy, who shook his head.

'Alright, you can be…'

'Ice.' Alec cut in, and Max looked at him for a moment before she laughed.

'Ice, I like it. Alright, you can be Ice. 253, CO of unit 1, you can be Jack, like from the nursery rhyme.'

'Nursery rhyme?' he asked, confused.

'Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean, and so between the two of them they licked the platter clean.' She recited, grinning. 'You're Jack cause your so tall and skinny. No, 692, CO of unit 2, you can be…hmm, any name you like?'

'I always liked the name Lawrence, from that movie Lawrence of Arabia. I always thought I kinda looked like him, too.' He said.

'Ok, so Lawrence it is. 461, CO of unit 3, you can be… Nigh.' This got a laugh out of Alec, which died down as she glared at him. 'Got a problem with the name? I though of night, cause you're so dark, but that's too predictable, so I went with Nigh. 461, what do you think?'

'I think my name's Nigh.'

'That settles it. See Alec, told you I'm good at naming people. Next is 892, CO of unit 4. Hmm, let's see. You remind me of a ballerina. Ooh, Abbey vetoed this name, but I think it'll suit you. Angelina… no, Angie. What do you think of Angie?'

'I like it. Angie, yeah it suits me.'

'Ok, so moving on we have 374, CO of unit 5. Small, brunette, hints of red… you look like a damsel, but I've seen you fighting, you're dynamite in a fight. You'd be perfect for a decoy… oh, got it. From that cartoon show, years ago. Um, what was her name…'

'Do you mean Daphne from Scooby-Doo?' Sash asked, looking at her.

'Yes, that's the one. Daphne, thankyou Sash.'

'You're right, Daphne suits her perfectly. That leaves you with 768, CO of unit 7 and 525, CO of unit 8.' Max studied them for a few minutes.

'I've got nothing. Ben?'

'Well, 768 sort of reminds me of that actress from the 90s, from Australia. Nicole?'

'Oh, I know her. She was huge back then. You think I look like her? I'll be Nicole, I like it.' The small redhead said, bouncing slightly.

'Ok, that's settled then. She's Nicole. So last, but not least, is 525. Symmetrical designation, just like Alec.'

'Let's name him Sym.' Alec said sarcastically.

'Huh, that's actually not that bad. 525, what do you think?'

'I agree, I like Sym.' Alec groaned, and Max grinned.

'I was being sarcastic. I shouldn't have said anything. I should learn from my mistakes and keep my mouth shut.' He said, putting his head in his hands.

'Yeah, but you like the sound of your own voice too much, and you never learn anything, so deal with it. Now, that's everyone. Ok, so we plan this carefully, it'll take a bit of time. Alec?'

'Right, each unit, division, whatever, will come up with different plans. We'll assign different parts to different units. Unit 1, you can work on the barracks. Unit 2, the X6s wing. Unit 3, science labs. Unit 4, the girls building. Unit 5, the med bay. Our unit will work on the Renfro, the perimeter and the security system. Unit 7, the maternity ward. That plan needs to be perfect, I want all those babies making it out of this alive. And unit 8, the X8s wing. Mia, psy-ops. You guys'll be important in making everything come together. Mole, you help the desert divisions, and the anomalies. You're gonna need help with them; you'll need to speak to Joshua. He's hard to find, he's not in a cell. But you go down to the basement, tell him I sent you, he'll come out. Ice, the arctic and water divisions, and the single special ops transhumans. Now, let's move out of here, cause it's suspicious enough for all us X5s to be sitting around here like this, but with a psy-ops and transhumans, it's a wonder none of the guards have come in. We'll meet again in a week, discuss, organise and all that jazz.' Everyone stood up, some started moving out.

Max moved toward Alec, who was talking softly with Sash. He reached out and took her hand, drawing her towards him without looking away from Sash, as he finished speaking. 'You know the basement almost as well as I do, and Joshua trusts you as well. Try and get down to him tonight, tell him that Mole will come to see him in the next few days. Keep in contact with Nicole, Daphne and Angie. They all trust you and most of the females look up to you. Max can help with that.'

'You mean when you're not busy trying to get into her pants?' Sash asked sweetly, batting her eyes at him. She moved nimbly out of the way when his hand came out to swipe at her, and she laughed.

'Are you just jealous cause you're not getting any?' He replied, and she grinned as she backed away from them. Then she turned and headed towards Ben, pausing just before she reached him, and she looked back.

'Who says I'm not getting any?' She asked, before she turned and kissed Ben. Max laughed, and looked up at Alec, who seemed to be unsure whether he should be laughing or breaking Ben's neck.

'Now now, there's no need to get protective. She's a big girl, and besides, he didn't break you're neck, so you can't break his. It's only fair.' He smiled down at her, pulling her closer, as he nuzzled her hair.

'Ah, what would I do without you as my voice of reason, Maxie?' He asked dramatically as he drew her away, and he put a hand over his heart. Max played along, putting a hand to her forehead in distress.

'I simply don't know, Alec. You'd probably end up beating up every second guy who had the misfortune to walk past you. How simply awful it would be.' As she spoke she put on a southern accent, playing the part well.

'Yes it simply would be awful, wouldn't it?' Alec mimicked her accent, adding a deep drawl to it.

'The most awful thing that could ever happen, ever. Let's never speak of it again.' Max's accent was getting more and more pronounced, and Alec's matched hers when he spoke again.

'Let's! I have you, and you have me. That's all that matters now.

'Oh Alec!'

'Oh Max!'

'Oh, get a room!' Max and Alec looked over at Sash and Ben, then at each other, and burst into laughter. They clung to each other as they laughed, finally collapsing in a fit of laugher on the floor, while Ben and Sash looked on. When they finally calmed themselves enough to sit back up, they both took one look at Ben and Sash's faces and they were off again. Ben and Sash decided to leave them to their own devices, and headed to lunch. Max sobered up when she heard the sound that announced lunch. She picked herself up and held out a hand to help Alec, which he took and used to bring her down on top of him.

'Alec! I know you can't be deaf, it's not in your genes to be deaf. That was the lunch signal, Renfro'll have our buts if we're late. She's waiting for me to slip up, and we can't afford her punishing me now. We need to go on pretending that I'm still all perfect soldier girl, at least during the day, when she can see…' he protest was cut short by Alec's lips finding hers, and she lost all thought of responsibility as he kissed her. But once again, the signal for lunch brought her back to reality, and she rolled off Alec and onto the floor. This time she didn't offer her hand; she merely reached out and yanked his arm, pulling him up quickly and sharply.

'Alright, spoilsport. I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your horses.' And he followed her out of the rec room, towards the dining hall. And while he watched her walk, and memories of the night before flooded his thought, a small part of his brain was still thinking about their daughter, and their plans to get her out.

Four nights later, Alec and Max sat on the bunk in his cell. They were using the basement to get between their cells; an easy access that had been discovered by Sash when Alec was in psy-ops after the escape in 09. That was when they had started separating the units, and soon after that the females and males. Since Max had already been working on the bricks in her cell, it didn't take long for the two of them to finish the hole, and Alec's was already set up, as it had been for over two years.

'So I talked to Joshua last night, he's been talking to Mole about escape routes from the basement, and our unit's working on the security system, including open all the cell doors. So once we get the doors open, it'll be easy. I was talking to Sym earlier, and he brought up the question of the X7s. I don't think we'll have a problem with the X6s and the X8s; both series look up to us X5s a lot, and we're technically their superiors, plus they hate this place. But the X7s, they're not gonna be so easy to crack. I don't think we'll get them on our side, and the ones guarding the perimeter are especially nasty, as I think you know.'

'So we take them out. We don't tell them of the plan before, cause they'll most likely go running to Renfro about it. They're much more clone like, unlike the X6s who are too close to our age, and they're too set in their ways, unlike the X8s who will be more easily susceptible to change. If, on the night, some of them choose to side with us, so be it. Those who don't are seen as our enemy. If they're true blue Manticore soldiers, we can't let them out in the world. It'll be like suicide, and homicide all at once.'

'Suicide I get, but homicide?'

'Well, not straight out homicide, but like assistance, or whatever it's called. If we let them out, and they start killing people, we're responsible. Same goes for any other X series, especially any fresh out of psy-ops. Although, we can probably get Mia to work on undoing any of that before hand.'

'This is really happening, isn't it? I always sorta dreamed of getting out of here, and then when the Rachel thing happened, I wanted it even more. When Ben came into our unit, I resented him at first, because I thought, _you've been out there, you've had the freedom we all wanted, so why are you back here, and why are you being a good soldier_, and then it finally hit me that he'd had the freedom, but he'd been so young, and he'd been so alone he couldn't handle it, and it wasn't really his fault he was back there, or acting the way he did. So we worked on him for a while, and finally got through to the real him. Then when you came, and I knew you were trying to escape again, you made me mad, cause I thought you were being so selfish. You'd been out there 11 years; you'd had 11 years of freedom, and you're back here for a couple months and you're already planning your escape, paying no heed to the rest of us. I wanted to hate you, you know.'

'I think I can understand that. I guess, even when I came back, that it never occurred to me what would happen to everyone I left behind if I ran for it. I just wanted so badly to get back, and I thought you would all be like the few I'd met, who hated my guts and wanted me dead. I didn't think anyone would miss me, so I planned to run.'

'I can understand that, too. But I guess none of that matters now, cause we're all getting out, and none of us are running. We're finally taking a stand, like we should have done years ago, but we were too few, too young, and we didn't know exactly what we were fighting for. I guess, now we do.' They sat on the bunk in silence.

'Do you really think we can this? Do you really think we'll all come out of this in one piece?' Max asked, looking up at Alec. He looked down at her, and she saw the look of determination in his eyes.

'We'll all get out of this, because they trained us to. They trained us to withstand all sorts of torture from enemies, we receive more from them. They trained us to kill without leaving a trace, to be invisible, to escape from bad situations and enemy territories. This is the enemy territory now, and we're going to escape. We'll make it out Max.' He pulled her close, gave her a quick, hard kiss, then held her. After a moment, he pulled back slightly, looked down and gave her a quick grin.

'Trying to distract me, are you?' She asked, returning the grin as she moved so she was straddling him. He shifted them so he was lying on the bunk, Max on top of him.

'I might have been. Did it work?' In answer, she leant down and kissed him long and hard, until they both needed to breath. He sucked in a deep breath, let it out on a shaky laugh. 'Well, I think that sufficiently answers that question. And I can say with certainty that Manticore's breathing, tank thing payed off.' Now Max was laughing, and she lay her head on Alec's chest, trying to muffle the sound of her laughter.

'Somehow…I don't think…this is what…Manticore had…in mind when…they put us…in the tank.' She managed to get out around bursts of laughter. She could feel Alec laughing beneath her, and it comforted her, so she held on to him, and the comfort.

'You never know, this might've been their secret, evil plan all along.' Alec said once they'd settled down and Max shook her head.

'Ok, enough of this crazy talk, pretty boy, or we'll bring the guards down on us with the laughing. Now, do you think we have time to get down to the maternity ward, see her before we have to be back in our own cells?'

'Yeah, it's still pretty early, we have time.'

'Alright then, let's go see our daughter.'

More than two weeks had passed since the first meeting, and now Alec stood in his cell with the other COs, Mia, Mole and Ice. They had almost finalised their plans, and they were waiting for Max to appear.

'So everyone knows what their jobs are, everyone they're responsible for?' Alec asked, for the fifth time in three minutes. Daphne rolled her eyes and sighed, but didn't let the frustration reach her voice when she spoke.

'Yes Alec, we're all set to go tomorrow night. Relax, Max'll be here soon.'

'She's here now. Was Alec stressing again?' Max asked as she pulled herself through the hole in the wall.

'I wasn't stressing, I was just concerned about the late hour, and your lack of appearance, but I wasn't stressing.' He crossed his arms over his chest, and there was a hint of a pout on his lips, and Max struggled to keep a straight face as she studied him.

'Ok Alec, I believe you.' She told him, and he scowled at her placating tone, and swatted her hand away as she patted his head. 'Alright, moving on. I have it.' She pulled out a document from the back of her pants, held it out to Alec, who took it. He read over it, lips turning up in amusement as he read.

'Nice. Listen to this; Elizabeth Renfro, Director of the Wyoming facility of Manticore: This is a warning. Let it be known that we are coming out, and this is war. You can try to prepare, but no amount of preparation will stop us. So try, but know this: You will not survive the week. Signed…' Alec looked up to the grinning faces that surrounded him.

'She's gonna freak out. This is almost too easy.' This came from Nigh, and Max laughed.

'All right, let's get this signed, and I'll get it to Honey before I go back to my cell.'

'Who's got a pen?' Mole asked, and Alec looked around, worried.

'I swear, you can plan a coup, put a gun together in, like, four seconds, but something simple like having a pen to sign a document.' Max scolded as she pulled a pen out of her back pocket and handed it to him.

'Why do I need to have a pen when you've got one, huh? Now, let's get this done. We sign this, and it begins'

A/N: like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! It'll be a little while until the next one, but I promise it'll be before Christmas!! I swear! But I want some reviews first, so drop me your thoughts.


	11. Chapter 11: Falling From the Inside

Disclaimer: I only want to own Jensen... sadly, all I have is DVDs

A/N: second last chapter!! I know it's been a long time coming. I hope it lives up to standards. And that it makes sense. Enjoy.

Chapter 11: Falling from the inside

Alec came through the hole in the wall at approximately 1:05 that night, crawling out onto the floor, coming to stop at Max's feet. She looked down, and smiled.

'Are you here to grovel now because I have everything organised, and I remembered all the small details where you did not?' She asked, amused, and he shot her a quick glare before he pulled himself up off the floor.

'I think not.' He said, as he brushed himself off. Some of the spaces he went through to get from his cell to Max's were quite small, and dirty.

'Well, if you're not here to grovel, I just can't see why you're here at all.' She said, feigning innocence. He let out a low growl that had her laughing as he reached out and pulled her towards him. 'You know, we should be resting or preparing for tomorrow, making sure everything's ready.' She mumbled as his lips brushed hers.

'Mm... everything's ready to go...and this is much more fun...besides, we have a busy few days ahead of us...I say we take advantage of the time we have' he replied, between kisses.

'Oh ok, if you insist.' She said as she sunk into the kiss.

A few hours later, Alec woke to find Max fully awake and lost in thought.

'Penny for your thoughts?' He whispered in her ear, and she turned to face him, and although she smiled, he could see the worry in her eyes. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing, I'm...' She stopped when he looked pointedly at her, and took a breath. 'I'm just worried about everything. What if something goes wrong, or someone's timing is a second off, and we lose people, or everyone? I mean, back in 09 it was just a unit of us, we were harder to find. Now it's all of us.'

'Yeah, but no one's gonna be a second behind, cause that's not how we were made. Nothing's gonna go wrong, cause we won't let it; we have this thing planned out to the very last detail, taking in all possibilities. This is what we were made to do, Max. In fact, if weren't planning to escape the facility, I'd say Renfro would be very pleased with the plan, and our use of all our skills. And as for there being more of us, it's true that with more of us it might make it easier, but at the same time, we're a lot older than you guys were, and, no offence, a lot better. And we're all taking this risk Max, just like you did. We want out, and we're not stupid enough to know that some might not make it, but we're all willing to risk it for our freedom.' He held her as he spoke, but he pulled her back to look at her, and he grinned. 'Besides, Renfro's so busy trying to figure out who's gonna attack her, she'll be confused as hell when we start this she won't know what's going on until it's too late.'

'So, you're sure on your part?' Max asked him, and he chuckled.

'Yeah, I'm sure.' She looked at him, and he sighed. 'At precisely 6:25, when the dinner bell would usually be sounding, Lawrence and Drac will sound the alarm, thus causing everyone not in on the plan to hurry outside, as well as all of the X8s, most of the X6s and some X5s. Renfro'll be too busy trying to figure out who sounded the alarm, and where the attack is coming from to notice that not all of us are there. And if she does notice, the stupid bitch'll probably think we're off trying to defend the facility. The nomalies and special divisions will exit through the basement to the back of the facility. I will be waiting to enter the armoury, with Biggs and Ben. Sash, Daphne and Nicole, along with their appointed X5s and X6s, females, will be down near the maternity ward, and will take out the guards and doctors down there, before removing the babies. Other X5s and X6s will be in various places over the facilities buildings, looking out for stragglers and making sure the buildings are empty before we really begin. Blade, Steve, Ariel and Honey will all be leading teams to take out the various towers, while Jack, Angie and Sym take their teams to secure the perimeters. At this point they, along with those in the towers will eliminate the X7s on perimeters. And then...'

'I come out onto the roof, and the real fun starts, beginning with Renfro being detained and the guards realising who's in charge.' She quietened, and he looked down, concern in his eyes.

'What is it, Max?' He asked softly.

'As much as I hate the guards and the doctors, I feel bad doing this to some of them. I mean, as much as I hate killing, I really think that some of them deserve to die, like Renfro. But I can't help feeling that some of them...'

'Actually cared about us?' he finished for her, and she nodded.

'I know what you mean, Max. Which is why Abbey, Gem and Jordan, who will be out in the yard, will be instructing the soldiers in charge of subduing the guards and doctors that certain ones aren't to be killed, but left alive to be found by whoever arrives to clean up the fire. For their own sakes as much as ours, they won't tell what really happened here.' He watched as Max's face lit up as he spoke, and loved that he was the one putting it there. She looked confused as he smiled contentedly.

'I know why I'm smiling, why are you smiling?' she asked, and he laughed before answering.

'No reason, really. I just love seeing you smile like that. And I guess it's a good thing I have an excellent memory, cause I don't think I'll be seeing it for a few days, and I'll probably need it.'

'Yeah, it's gonna be a long few days.'

At exactly 6:24 the next evening, Alec stood in front of Biggs and Ben, listening for the sound that would signal the beginning of the end of Manticore, Wyoming. He thought back to the last time he'd seen Max, in her cell following lunch...

_They sat on her bunk, side by side, in silence, just holding hands. Alec turned to Max, used his spare hand to turn her face to his._

_'Max, you know I love you, right?' She tried to pull away, but he held fast._

_'Alec, don't...'_

_'I'm not saying it in a 'just in case I never see you again' way, cause I know I'm gonna see you again. Just try and stop me.' He said, and they laughed lightly. 'I was serious, though. I guess I was just checking, I just wanted to go into this being sure that you knew it.' He shrugged as he finished, as if trying to make it a 'no big deal' situation, and she grinned._

_'Not trying to back out of anything, are you?' and he grinned back, and pulled her into a hug._

_'Not a chance in hell. Cause you're stuck with me. And when this is all over, it'll be me, you and our baby girl.' He whispered into her hair, and he held her._

The sound of the alarm, and the following footsteps pulled Alec from his memory, and back to the task at hand. Two minutes later, the footsteps had faded and Alec signalled to Biggs and Ben to follow him. They went around the corner, and saw to their disgust that the guards hadn't even bothered to make sure the armoury was secure before abandoning their posts. Renfro would be so disappointed. It only made their job that much easier, not that breaking in would have been hard, Alec thought to himself. They made their way in and separated. Biggs and Ben headed to the hand held weapons, particularly the guns, while Alec headed to where they kept the explosives. Those taking the perimeter and towers already had small weapons, and would take those of the ones they killed, but the soldiers inside the facility, and a few outside, would need weapons, and it was Ben and Biggs' job to get the weapons to them. Alec was preparing the "fire" that would ultimately destroy the facility.

Max sat in the stairwell that led to the highest roof, waiting for the alarm. She, too, was thinking about the conversation between her and Alec that afternoon.

_'You know, Alec, we really need to think about naming her. We can't keep calling her baby girl, and god knows we're not calling her 946.'_

_'Hmm... well, I don't have anything just yet, how about we name her after this is over? And the name will be agreed on by both of us.' He said pointedly, and she glared._

_'Was that a stab at my naming abilities?' She demanded, and she hit him when he only smirked. 'Well, your name turned out ok, didn't it?'_

_'That was lucky. Don't worry Max, we'll come up with a name.'_

_'I know. I guess I'm still not used to this whole thing, it still seems surreal, so I guess I think naming her will make it seem more real.'_

_'I know what you mean. We name her, it's like she becomes a real person, and ours.'_

She smiled at the memory of Alec's face when he said that last word; the amazement on his face. Then the alarm sounded, and she pushed the memory aside as she began to count. They had given the teams outside 5 minutes to obtain control before Max made her appearance. As for the Xs in charge of restraining Renfro and the other ordinaries, their cue was Max's appearance. So she sat and counted.

'That was the alarm, so the guards and doctors should be moving now.' Sash said to the other women around her. Sure enough, two seconds later, hurried feet could be heard making their way out of the maternity wing. They knew that a few guards and doctors would have been instructed to stay behind, but they weren't of any concern to them. Except one, who was to be left unharmed and brought with them. Dr Ryans, who Alec had instructed was not to be killed. Sash knew that Alec planned on letting the few guards and doctors who had been kind to them, live, and she guessed that Cece or one of the others must have said something to Alec about Dr Ryans. Either way, she had her orders, and as soon as the footsteps stopped, she lead her group around the corner, and towards the maternity ward.

When they were close, they split into three groups, headed by Sash, Daphne and Nicole. They separated, Daphne's group heading out first to take care of the guards and doctors quickly and efficiently. Then Nicole and Sash's groups followed, going off to either side of the main corridor to start collecting the babies. Since they knew the rough numbers of infants, they assigned a female to two babies. Once Daphne's group had eliminated the remaining people, they too would take two babies each. And Dr Ryans would help. The plan was for them to move the babies as far as they could before the detonators went off, and they would meet up with the mothers and fathers after. But for now, they had at least 50 babies to handle, with there being an average of 6 babies per unit.

'Ok, let's get this done as quickly as possible. Max is only waiting 5 minutes to make her appearance, and after that we've got less than half an hour to get as far away from here as we can before this place blows. Cece, you and Evey take our unit; Claire and Elle unit 5, Sarah, the single babies from those two units. I'll take Sarah and get unit the babies from unit 4.'

'How much time do we before Max starts?' Cece asked, as they started to separate.

'4 minutes and counting. Let's get started.'

'Everyone settle down. Kellerman, what the hell is going on? Who sounded the alarm, and why?' Renfro demanded, calling over one of the head guards.

'Unknown, ma'am. We're trying to determine it, but we can't get a location on the guards stationed near the control room and security areas.' He replied, and she glared at him. 'I'll get right on it, ma'am. We'll locate them.'

'Yes, you will.' Was all she said before she turned and walked away, pulling out her cell.

'Hey, you have any idea what's going on? Why the alarm?' Angie asked, coming up behind a lone X7 patrolling the perimeter, who turned to her and raised his gun. 'Whoa, whoa, no need to do that. Just wondering if you'd heard anything about the alarm, which clearly you haven't. I'll just be going now.' She smirked when the kid moved the gun to stop her departure. 'Not a people person, huh? Just a loyal soldier. That's good. Not that it'll help you much, since Manticore won't be here much longer.' She finished, before she launched herself at the kid. It took her only two minutes before the kid was dead, and she had a weapon. She signalled to the soldiers she had in the surrounding trees to move out and take out any lone X7s first and secure their weapons before moving to pairs or groups. Then she headed out. They had less than three minutes to finish securing the perimeter.

Honey led her team of three towards tower 2, at the north-east corner of the facility, before the woods. She laughed at how lax it was now. One alarm and they all go running, she thought to herself. There was no one guarding the base of the tower now, and she could only see two men up in the main room of the tower, plus one sniper at the very top. She signalled for Chase and Kev, two males from unit 3, to follow her, and for Dina, from unit 5, to come last and make her way up to the top to take out the sniper, and assume his position. They all nodded and she started up the stairs.

When they reached the door, she slipped a note under the door, one of four that Max had prepared. They read, very simply; Guess who? They heard the guards moving, and one read out the letter. Then two sets of footsteps headed for the door. They opened the door and were met with the three transgenics. Honey smiled sweetly up at them.

'Weren't expecting us, were ya?' she asked sweetly, then blurred and punched them both, before moving past them, leaving Chase and Kev to finish them. A few seconds later they heard movement above them, which didn't last long. Then Dina popped back down the stairs to let them know she was fine, before she headed back up to take her position. She looked at Chase and Kev, who were now holding guns, and nodded. She turned to the control panel and picked up the radio. She looked down at her watch, saw that five minutes were almost up, and started to speak.

'This is Honey, tower 2 is secure. How about you?' Five seconds later, it crackled as someone began talking.

'This is Steve, tower 3 is... now secure.' They laughed at the brief pause that signalled that someone wasn't quite down when he started.

'This is Ariel, tower 1 is secure.'

'This is Blade, tower 4 is secure. 30 seconds to show time.' And in the four corners of the facility, the four transgenics smiled.

Abbey stood next to Jordan, watching Renfro talking to the head guards out of the corner of her eye.

'15 seconds and counting. How's Gem? She all set?' she asked him, looking at him discreetly. She saw him nod, a slight movement that an ordinary wouldn't have noticed.

'Ok, get back to your spot. 5 seconds.'

Max stood on the top step, counting down the final seconds. '7...6...5...4...3...2...1... show time.' She opened the door and walked out onto the roof. Blade was the first to see her from his position in the north-west tower, and his sniper sent off the two warning shots. As she approached the edge, Max looked down and saw the people scrambling for cover, unsure of where the shots were coming from. And she noticed as Gem, Jordan and Abbey led their people to surround them. She waited another 30 seconds for them to be in position, before she began.

'Elizabeth Renfro.' She projected her voice, and watched as the people heard it, and slowly stopped moving and began looking around. 'Director Elizabeth Renfro.' She called again, and saw them all look up at her, saw the look of astonishment, and then outrage on Renfro's face.

'452, I should've known. What, you managed to convince a few people to escape with you? You should've waited until dark, you would've had more of a chance.' Renfro said, and Max laughed.

'You don't get it, do you? It's not a few of us. It's all of us. Director Renfro... well, as Director, you're supposed to know everything that goes on here, right? Guess you're not as good as you thought, huh? Cause you clearly didn't know that all the X5 COs have been meeting every night for over two weeks, planning this. That someone from psy-ops, the desert division and the arctic division have also been involved. I bet you don't know that right now, this whole facility is under the control of X5s.' She saw disbelief, and panic, cross Renfro's face.

'You're bluffing, 452. There is no way that you could get the entire X series, and the special divisions teams, under your command.' Max smiled.

'Oh, I know that. After all, you did train them all to hate me. But, Alec, I believe you know him as 494, or should I just refer to him as my breeding partner? Anyway, Alec is looked up to by basically every transgenic here. And, well, neither of us took too kindly to you helping yourself to our DNA to create a baby, so when he went to the other X5 COs, they were only too happy to help.'

'494 is a good soldier, he would never...'

'He would never do this? You really under estimate us, Renfro. But don't worry, you won't be around much longer any way. But you can be proud, in your final minutes, that we're reaching our full potential. We're doing what we were trained to do. Eliminate our enemies, erase all trace of ourselves. Blend in to our surroundings. Well, we blended in here, we're about to eliminate our enemies, and once we're through here, all trace of us will be gone.'

'I still don't see anyone helping you, 452.'

'Look around, Renfro. Really look. We're everywhere. Oh, and my name's Max.' The second she said her name, Abbey and the others sprung into action, and within minutes they had all the guards, doctors and Renfro contained. Abbey was watching Renfro, and was using Kellerman's gun to keep her on the ground, not that she needed it.

'See, Renfro? I told you, you underestimate us. Don't go anywhere.' She turned, and disappeared back into the building. Once inside, she made her way down to the control room, where all the facility's systems were connected. She found Drac and Lawrence inside, erasing everything, although first they had made a copy of the main database of all the transgenics in the facility.

'Hey Max,' Drac said without looking up. 'We're about half done here. It took a while to copy the files, there are a lot of us here, but not we're just deleting everything. It sure was handy for them to have all their systems connected to this main one. Idiots.' He added the last bit slightly under his breath, and they all laughed.

'That's great. I'm gonna go see how Biggs and Ben are going. Make sure the rest of the building is clear.'

Outside, Abbey watched Max disappear back into the building. As soon as she was clear, she looked to her left, at Gem, then to her right, at Jordan. She nodded once, then looked forward. They passed their guns to the people behind them, and pulled out knives. She saw the fear in the eyes of those in front of her, in the eyes of Renfro, and for a second she felt a twinge of guilt for what she was about to do to most of them. But then she remembered why they were doing this, what these people had done to her, and her friends and family. And the fear in their eyes grew as they saw something change in her eyes, as she stalked towards them.

And as they started, the air filled with screams, but she blocked it; the only thing on her mind was the pain and horror these people had inflicted on them for the past 20 odd years.

'Hey, Max. We've secured half the facility, two casualties near Renfro's office, left behind to secure the files, I guess, not that there would've been anything for them to find, considering Drac and Lawrence are on it.' Biggs said a few minutes later, as the three of them stood in the hall talking.

'Yeah, and we've been down to the maternity ward. Sash and Nicole's teams were gone, all babies are fine, Daphne's teams were just about to head out, with Dr Ryans in tow.'

'That's good to know. Uh... did you happen to find out...?'

'Cece has her, she's fine. Now, we gotta go finish checking the place. See you later.'

'Bye.' Ben was about to leave, when he turned back and pulled her into a hug.

'You always worry too much, Maxie.' He whispered into her ear, before he pulled away and followed Biggs down the corridor. She took a deep breath, then turned in the other direction and headed off to find Alec.

Alec was setting the last explosive in place; they were strategically placed in 5 points around the facility to cause optimum damage, and start a nice sized fire, but also to leave the least amount of trace of explosives, causing the fire to look like an accident. Once everyone was clear, he would set of the first explosive, which would trigger a chain reaction through the pipes of the facility. He was double checking it when Max came up behind him. He rose, and turned to her, satisfied that everything was set to go. He'd also set a timer on the first one, set to go off in 40 minutes, just in case something went wrong.

'Hey, all set in here?' She asked softly, and he nodded.

'Yep. Last one's in place, timer's set in case I happen to lose this little bad boy,' he said, pulling a small plastic rectangle from his pocket, 'and Biggs and Ben should almost be done clearing the building.'

'They've done just over half, or they had about 5 minutes ago. They move quick, although I guess it helps if you know this place inside out, huh? And the maternity ward should be completely empty by now, Daphne's team was the only one left. And Drac and Lawrence should be almost done by now too. Which leaves...'

'Renfro. Are you sure you're up to this, Max? I know you don't like killing people, and considering what happened the last time...'

'I know, on both accounts. But I have to do this, Alec. I can honestly say that I have no problems about killing Renfro. You were right; I don't like killing _people_, so I guess it's a good thing for me that I don't consider Renfro has being human. Not that I love killing animals, but she doesn't even count as that. She's beyond low. She's evil incarnate, and I won't let her go out into the world to create another Manticore.'

'Ok. As long as you're sure. Ready to go?' He held out his hand for her, and she took it. They walked in silence until they reached the main door that would take them out to the yard, when Max stopped. Alec turned back, confusion on his face. 'Max...'

'No, I still want to do it, it's just... do you think you could go out and see if Abbey and them are finished? I'm just not big on the whole mass killing thing, ya know?' He nodded, and released her hand, before he stepped outside. When the door shut behind him, Max let out a breath, and looked around. Empty, and silent, it didn't seem like much. She tried to figure out why she'd spent so much time running from this place, of being scared to go back. It really wasn't much. But then, they had been stronger, faster, smarter, and they'd still been subdued the guards and doctors. Because they'd been weak, in the most important way, they'd been weak. But, she thought to herself as she smiled, not any more.

Alec stepped outside, and walked quickly towards Abbey and Jordan, who were talking. He could see the bodies, could smell the blood from the moment he opened the doors. But he needed the confirmation. Abbey looked up when she heard him approaching, and Jordan followed her gaze.

'Alec.'

'What's the situation?'

'There'll be 10 survivors. 7 guards, 3 doctors. They're over there. We cut them a little, made it look like they'd run for their lives and made it outside before they collapsed from exhaustion, and eventually, smoke inhalation. The rest... I guess they didn't make it out in time.'

'And Renfro?' Abbey shifted her eyes to over his shoulder, and he turned and followed her gaze to where Renfro was kneeling in front of an X6 who was watching her.

'Ok. Have you seen Biggs and Ben? Or Drac and Lawrence? Max is ready to come out.'

'Biggs and Ben headed to the north-west tower to check in with Blade, Drac and Lawrence haven't come out yet.'

'Ok... I'll go give Max the all clear and then find out what's keeping Drac and Lawrence.

When Alec came back in through the doors, he found Drac and Lawrence talking to Max.

'Oh, good. Well this saves me from having to find you guys. Max, everything's ready. You ready?' He watched as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath. And nodded.

'I'm ready. Let's go.' She walked out ahead of him, and with a quick look back at Drac and Lawrence, he followed. He watched her as she walked ahead of him. It was different today, her walk. There was nothing casual about it; it was purposeful, direct. He was still watching her as she came to a stop in front of Abbey, and Renfro, while he stood next to Ben.

Max stopped in front of Abbey, looked at her, and nodded. Abbey stepped away, joined the circle that was forming around Max and Renfro.

'So this is it 452? This is where all your training is going?' Renfro asked. 'You think your life will be perfect outside?'

'No. But it'll be a hell of a lot better than in here, that's for sure. You don't get it, do you? You never did, and you never will. Why do you think we go on the missions as often as possible, no fuss? It's not to kill for you, or to obey you. It was to get away from this place, if even for a few days. Cause this place is worse than hell on earth.' Max was circling Renfro now, as if deciding how to do it, like a bird circles their prey.

From his spot beside Alec, Ben watched the interaction, and the way Max moved. This was different from when she had killed White; she was cold now, calculating.

'You can try and beg, but it won't do you any good.' Max stopped beside Abbey now, and from the weapons she had, selected a medium sized knife. She walked back over to Renfro, hauled her to her feet. She ran the knife along Renfro's arm, slicing through her top, into the skin, and as their audience watched, blood formed and began dripping down her arm. Max's lips curled up into a slightly feral smile at Renfro's sharp intake of breath when the knife sliced into her. 'Before you leave this earth, you will know the pain you caused.' She handed the knife back to Abbey, moved forward. And started to land some very precise blows to Renfro. She moved quickly, though, and in a few minutes, Renfro was lying on the ground, sobbing from the pain; the pain of a dislocated shoulder, broken knee cap, crushed fingers and more.

'That was for Brin, Ben, me and everyone else who survived. This is for Jack, Eva, Tinga, Zack, and everyone else who didn't.' Ben watched as she continued to inflict pain on her, and the scene in front of him brought back memories of when they had first been reunited, more than a year ago.

_'Ben why are you doing this?'_

_'You know why.'_

He'd been just as cold back then, and he could remember the look on her face, the disgust at what he was doing.

_'It's over.'_

_'Is it? What, are you gonna call the police now?' He watched her, then smirked. 'Didn't think so.'_

_'I could turn you over to Lydecker.'_

_'You wouldn't do that, would you? Your own brother?'_

_'Bet he'd love to figure out what the hell went wrong with you.'_

_'Nothing went wrong with me! I'm doing what I was made to do, what we were taught to do.'_

_'Hunt people down to perform amateur dental surgery? I must've missed that class.'_

_'You seem to know quite a bit about what I've been up to.'_

_'Where's Destry?'_

_'Not that I mind. You're one of the few people who could possibly understand.'_

_'That's where you're wrong. I don't understand.'_

_'Come on, Maxie. Don't tell me you've forgotten that day.'_

_'Believe me, I've tried.'_

_'But you can't, can you? And you wanna know why? Cause it was the most exhilarating day of your life. For one brief moment, you were what you were meant to be – a predator. What's the matter Maxie? Are you afraid to remember?'_

_'I don't wanna remember.'_

_'Because it scares you? I think we even scared Lydecker that day. I remember watching him run off into the woods... how long it seemed for Lydecker to count down the seconds. He never had a chance. Don't tell me you don't wake up with the sound of your heart pounding in your ears.'_

_'Shut up!'_

_'Or the taste of blood in your mouth.'_

_'Shut up!'_

_'You're like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Max! Hiding your instincts, every minute of every day, so no one will know what you really are. A soldier... a hunter... a killer.'_

Watching her now, Ben felt himself in her shoes, watching someone you grew up with, someone you loved, seeming to spin out of control, and there was nothing you could do to stop it, to understand it. Oh, he could understand where her pain was coming from; he felt the same anger about their siblings. But Max's seemed to go above and beyond. When she had said it was for Brin and him, he was confused. He was alive. So was Brin, despite being loyal to Manticore. And he sensed there was more, but she seemed to be dealing with it all now. Her attack, which had quickened and become almost like her attack on White, became less frenzied, her breathing returned to normal, and her eyes began to shift back to how they normally were. But in that time, he understood how she felt watching him, and listening to him try to explain; he knew he couldn't understand what was going through her mind right now, just like she hadn't been able to back then.

_'The barcodes. Why the barcodes?'_

_'They're soldiers. Worthy opponents. _

_'But you're not giving them just any barcode. You're giving them yours.'_

_'War is art, remember? So what if I sign my work?'_

_'No. It's more than that. You give them your barcode, then you hunt them down and kill them. Don't you get it? You're killing yourself over and over again.'_

_He laughed at her, shook his head slightly._

_'Do you hate yourself that much? Hate what you're doing that much?'_

_'I do it for her.'_

_'The Blue Lady?! Come on, Ben. We made her up.'_

_'Don't say that, Max. Don't ever say that.'_

_'Normal kids had the tooth fairy. We had her.'_

_'She's real.'_

_'Then why didn't she protect us? Why didn't she protect Jack?'_

_'Because we failed her.'_

_'Or Eva?'_

_'Because we weren't strong enough.'_

_'Like hell we weren't. We got out, didn't we?'_

_'I know what my mission is. I have faith in her.'_

_'Is that why you give her your victims' teeth? To make her heart stronger to fight the Nomlies?'_

_'Shut up.'_

_'You're the Nomlie.'_

_'No.'_

_'The genetic mistake.'_

_'No.'_

_'The monster in the basement. Ben, you know what you're doing is wrong. Some part of you wants it to end. So end it. Tell me where Destry is. Your mission's over. You can't keep trying to recreate Manticore.'_

_'We never should've left. Everything made sense there.'_

_'No. __Nothing__ made sense there.'_

_He was crying now, he couldn't help it._

_'I'm a good soldier. I try so hard.'_

_'Tell me where he is.'_

He could remember their last conversation, her last bid to stop him.

_'You're just in time. It seems his faith wasn't strong enough.'_

_'We can let him go...find someone better.'_

_'No. This is for you, Maxie. So you finally understand what I'm doing.'_

_They fought, then he was on the ground, he couldn't move.__ He could feel the pain every time he tried to move. He could hear the helicopters, knew that Manticore was here.__ He looked up at Max as she held him, panic clear in his eyes._

_'Don't leave me here. Don't let them take me.'_

_'Ben, I can't carry you. We'll both get caught.'_

_'I know.'_

_'Ben, I can't.'_

_'Please. You know what they'll do to me. They'll put me down there with them...the Nomlies. Please.'_

_'Tell me about the good place.'_

_'Where no one ever gets punished.'_

_'And no one gets yelled at.'_

_'And nobody disappears. And when you wake up in the morning, you can stay in bed as long as...' and then everything was blank, until the day he woke up in Manticore._

And now, as he watched her begin to break down, he sensed Alec about to step in, but he put out a hand and stopped him. And he stepped forward instead. She hadn't been able to understand what he was doing, and she had stopped him. Now he couldn't understand what she was doing, but he knew he had to help her. So that was what he did. He put a hand on her shoulder, stilled her. She spun to him, a chillingly calm look in her eyes, her face hard. But it softened when she looked at him. They shared something in their silence, and then Ben took her hand in his, and together they reached out, and snapped her neck. Then she broke down, and Alec stepped forward.

She let herself be pulled into his embrace, be held. She barely registered the words he spoke, until one word caught her mind. She looked up.

'What did you say?'

'I said it's over now.' She looked around, saw everyone was already moving around, preparing to put the bodies in or around the facility. The final bit of work before the finale.

'Yeah, it is.' She said before she caught a glimpse of Ben moving Renfro's body, and turned her head back into Alec's chest.

'Come on, let's go for a walk.' She tried to protest, saying they were needed, but he shushed her. 'They can handle it. Let's walk.'

When Max was finally calm again, Alec led her back out of the woods, towards the facility.

'Time to say goodbye.' He joked, and she gave him a small smile.

'Good riddance, more like. And not a moment too soon.' He looked down at her, and a moment later burst out in laughter. She tried to glare at him, but since she was laughing too, it was hard.

'I'm not laughing at you, I swear.' He told her once he could speak again. 'It's just good to hear you being sarcastic again. I've missed that over the past few weeks.'

'It's good to be back. Damn.'

'What? What is it?'

'I forgot that I wanted Renfro to watch Manticore burn.'

'Don't worry. I think she got the message. Besides, it wasn't so much about Manticore being here, at least for her. It was about being in control, controlling all of us. Watching the Manticore burn wouldn't have been as bad for her as losing control, of the place, or of us. The worst thing for her today would be knowing that she never really had control of us, followed closely of course, by having to submit to us.' He sent her a quick grin, which she thankfully returned.

'You're right,'

'Of course,' he snuck in, and she smacked him up the head.

'As I was saying, you're right; that woman was too much of a control freak for her own good. It really wasn't healthy.'

'Yeah, the way I see it, you did her a favour.'

'That's me; helping those less fortunate.'

'Sounds like a perfect description to me.' He said, trying to keep a straight face, but she saw the grin sneak across his face.

'Hey, no laughing at me.' She said, hitting him again.

'Hey! I was agreeing with you.'

'Whatever. Let's get back, help them finish up.'

15 minutes later, they stood on the hill above Manticore, watched as Alec pressed the small button that would erase all sign of the first 20 years of their lives. Watched as the first explosion rocked the ground, as four more followed in succession. They watched it burn for nearly 10 minutes before Alec turned to the large group. He raised his hands, and the hundreds in front of him began to fall silent.

'This part of our lives may seem like it's over, but it will be with us forever. It's part of who we are, of who our children will be, and we shouldn't forget it. They trained us to be killers, but it doesn't mean we have to be. Many of us aren't in most circumstances.' He paused, looked around at all the people in front of him, human looking and otherwise.

'The people out here don't know who, or what we are. People are afraid of what's different, but I don't tell you to hide yourselves, or who you are. Simply to be cautious. It's a different world out there, a different way of living. Try and blend in best you can, and I know that will be more difficult for some, but we made the choice, and here it is. I'll be there for anyone who needs me, or my help.' He looked down at Max, and she nodded. 'I'll be in Seattle, so any of you can look me up. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.' He looked to Ben, who nodded, then to the rest of his unit, who did the same. Max put her hand on his shoulder, signalling she would like to speak. He stepped back, gave her the floor.

'What Alec said is true. People like what they know, and are afraid of what they don't. Some people turn that fear into hate, and that hate into violence. So be careful. And stick together. When I first got out into the world, I lost track of everyone I escaped with, spent the next 10 years trying to find them. Don't let that happen to you. Whoever you leave here with today, you look after each other.' She looked back, and saw Biggs telling Alec something. Alec looked grim, but as Biggs finished, he looked relieved. He looked to Max to see if she was finished, and she nodded. He stepped forward again.

'I have some good news, and some bad news. We know the final tally of transgenic deaths from today. The total is 27. We lost Angie, a female from her unit, a male from Sym's unit, all on perimeter, Daphne lost a female in the maternity ward. Two males from unit 3 in the yard, 1 female from unit 2, 3 from unit 7. 8 X6s in the yard, 3 from unit 9, 1 from unit 10, 2 from unit 12, 1 from unit 13 and 1 from unit 15. 9 X8s. It seems the guards thought they were the easiest targets in the yard, went for them. No X7s survived. Max held back the tears that threatened to spill. They had all gone into this knowing the risk involved. They had been willing to take that risk if it meant the chance of freedom, for them and their family.

'We pay our respects.' She scanned the crowd, saw a young X8 towards the front, holding a bugle. She walked towards him, held out her hand to him, and he stepped forward tentatively. 'Can you play for us?' He nodded, and she smiled. Alec took his spot beside the kid.

'Attention!' He called out, and everyone snapped to attention, and the boy started to play. Images flashed through Max's mind; images of Zack, Tinga, Jack and Eva. Of everyone she had lost over the years. Even Ben, lying in the forest, even though he had come back to her.

Similar images were flashing through the minds of everyone standing there, images of friends dead or dying. Finally the sound of the bugle died off, and everyone relaxed. Alec cleared his throat again, and once again all eyes were on him.

'Now that I've delivered the bad news; the good news is that we've heard from Sash, and they made it safely to the building, 4 miles from here. All 51 babies present and accounted for. All X5s who gave birth, and their partners, can make their way to that point over the next few hours to collect their child. Or in some cases, children, for those of you who had twins.'

He heard the sighs of relief flood through the group as couples relaxed on hearing their children were ok. Max turned to him.

'Can we go get our girl now?' She asked him, and he smiled and laughed, pulling her into a hug.

'Yeah, let's go get out girl.' Everyone started to disperse, and Alec led Max into the bushes. She was surprised when she saw the green motorbike hidden in the bushes. Alec looked at her, and saw her look of surprise. 'I got it on my last mission before you came into the unit.' He explained. 'I liked it, so I hid it here, still use it. Come on, let's beat the crowds.'

Taking the roads, it took them a little over 20 minutes to get to the building Sash and the others had taken the babies to. Alec pulled up in front of the building, and Max hopped off. He followed quickly, and they went inside. The first thing Max picked up was the crying. It sounded as though half the babies were awake and crying, and she watched all the women hurrying around, some soothing, some feeding. And Dr Ryans, moving from baby to baby, checking them all.

'Max!' Max and Alec turned towards Sash, and saw her holding a baby, their baby, as she made her way to them. Max looked up at Alec, uncertainty and fear in her eyes, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned back to Sash, and held out her arms. She took their daughter in her arms, held her close.

'Look at her Alec, she's so tiny.' Alec reached out, and she took hold of his finger. He chuckled.

'But already strong.' As they watched, she slowly opened her eyes, and once again Max was stunned to see Alec's eyes looking back at her.

'Her eyes are beautiful.'

'Why thank you, Max.' Alec said, and narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him.

'Well, for what it's worth, she's beautiful, and that's all you. I still can't believe she's our baby girl.'

'Speaking of that, have you thought of a name? I'm having trouble.'

'Max, the name-master, can't think of a name for her own baby girl?' She kicked him, the only way she could get him without moving the baby too much.

'It's got to be perfect, and I've had a lot on my mind.' He put his arm around her, and kissed her forehead as he looked down.

'Well, I did think of something. What do you think of Catherine?'

'Catherine. Catherine. I like it. She looks like a Catherine, doesn't she?'

'Yeah, she does. I also thought we call her Cat, for short. It's cute, plus, considering who her parents are, and her genes, it seems fitting, don't you think?' She tilted her head back, and laughed.

'Yeah. What do you say, baby girl? Is your name Catherine?' Their daughter made a small sound, and they smiled. 'I think I'll take that as a yes.' They turned as the doors opened, and they watched as more transgenics began streaming in. The first one in was Biggs, and they watched as he crossed to Cece, who was also holding a baby. They smiled at each other, caught up in each other and their child. Max turned to Alec, and they smiled as well.

'What do you say we get out of here, huh? Head back to Seattle. We'll catch up with everyone there, once everyone's settled in.' Max nodded, and they started towards the door, but then she stopped.

'Wait. You have a bike, and we have a baby.'

'Ah, that's where...' he hurried off towards Sash, and returned a minute later. 'That's where this comes in handy. Uh, I guess I'll be wearing it, since I'm not riding shotgun on my own bike. Uh, give me a minute here.' She watched as he fiddled with the object in his hand, and when he was done, he was wearing a sort of sling. He held out his arms, and after a moment, she gently put Cat in his arms. She watched in fascination as he settled her in the sling, and secured the top so that she was covered, to keep the wind off her. 'There. And you can keep your hands on her while we ride.' She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him. 'What?'

'Nothing. It's just strange seeing you all... domestic.'

'Yes, haha. Alec holding a baby is very hilarious.' He held out his hand. 'Come on, let's go. I'm sure you can't wait to see Seattle, and all your friends again.' Once again she stopped. 'What?'

'God, how am I gonna explain this to OC? I disappear suddenly, I'm gone for months, and then suddenly I appear again and I have, not only a group of transgenics in tow, but a... boyfriend, and a baby. I'll be surprised if she doesn't kill me.'

'Kill you?'

'OC doesn't like being out of the loop, or getting surprises. This is gonna be a big one. I'm gonna have to try and get my job back, although explaining my 9 month sabbatical to Normal isn't gonna be easy. Although this little one my make it easier. And there's Sketchy, too. I suppose we'll have to find an apartment, but we can crash with OC for a while, she won't mind. It was my apartment.' She looked expectantly at Alec, waiting for him to get on. He looked perplexed. 'You ok?'

'Just trying to take it all in. OC I know, she's the room mate who bats for the other team. Who are Normal and Sketchy?'

'Normal's my boss, and I work with Sketchy. You'll figure it all out. Actually, I'm sure we can get you a job with Normal. We can get different hours, or at least different hours from OC, so someone's always with Cat. But for now, let's put this place behind us.' He nodded in agreement, and hopped on the bike. Once she was secure behind him, her arms around his middle, her hands holding Cat, he took off.

As he rode, he thought about his past, and Max's. He had effectively just erased his entire past, but here they were racing towards hers, or a large part of it. And it worried him a bit how he would fit in to her life there. But as he quickly glanced down at the bundle he had strapped to him, and smiled. And hit the accelerator just a little bit, speeding them towards their future.

A/N: Well? What did ya think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know. One more chapter to go.


	12. Chapter 12: Strange United Family Take1

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

A/N: Ok, this isn't the ending I planned, and I have two things to say about it: 1) I wrote this under threat of my friend hurting me, and writing it was the only way to get him to shut up and 2) there IS an alternate ending, the one I originally planned. Or at least, there will be when I finished it. I also have one request: please don't kill me.

Chapter 12: Strange United Family

Alec pulled up in front of a derelict old building, and parked his bike. After he felt Max get off, he stood up and hopped off. He turned carefully, trying not to wake the now sleeping Cat.

'So, this is where you live, huh?' He asked, and she hit him playfully.

'Yes, this is where I live. Where _we_ live, at least for now. Uh, OC's probably asleep but I'm sure she won't mind if we wake her up.'

'From the sound of it, if she sees you she won't care what the hell you're doing. But, considering how long you've been gone, I think I should take Cat for a little tour of Seattle, come back in about half an hour?' Max looked relieved, and rose on her toes to give him a kiss.

'Thank you. You're the best.'

'I know, it's hard, but I...' He trailed off when her lips met his again.

'Alec?'

'Hmm?'

'Just take a ride.' He grinned down at her, then hopped back on his bike, kicked it into gear and sped off. Max watched him disappear down the street before she turned prepared to face her past.

When Max entered her old apartment, the first thing she saw was her baby sitting in the middle of the living room. She raced over, and couldn't help herself; she hugged it. And then she sat on it, and ran her hands over it. Then, after finding her key, she revved it a couple of times, and waited until she saw OC rush out from behind the curtain that separated her 'bedroom'.

'Did I wake you?' She smiled as OC looked at her, stunned. Then she rushed forward, and Max was enveloped in a crushing hug.

'Thank god you're alive.'

'Well, what can I say?' Max said when she was finally give a chance to breath. 'I don't kill easy, and I don't stay down for long when I'm hit.' They both laughed, and OC hugged her again.

'So spill, boo. Where the hell you been for 9 months?'

'Uh, how bout we sit down? It's a long story.'

Exactly 28 minutes later, Alec once again pulled up outside Max's building. He hopped off the bike, and, after checking Cat, headed inside, following the directions Max had given him. When he reached the floor, he looked around, and found the door. He knocked, and waited. The following 20 seconds were probably the most nerve wracking of his life; he knew he had Max, and that she loved him, but she seemed to put a lot in what OC thought, so he wanted to make a good impression. He was gently rocking a stirring Cat when the door swung open in front of him, and he was greeted by a small black women, with crazy hair and an annoyed look on her face.

'What?' Alec froze for a second; apparently Max hadn't gotten to him yet.

'Uh... I'm here to see Max, she's expecting me.' He saw the scepticism on the woman's face, OC's face he guessed. 'Uh, you're Original Cindy, right?'

'Aiight, I'll give you that. But my boo just got back from a 9 month vacation, so how is it she's expecting someone?'

'Uh... I was with her on her vacation. I know she's here, just ask her, I swear she knows me. My name's Alec, by the way.'

'Fine, come in. She's in the bathroom, she'll be out in a minute anyway. Do you want...' she was cut off by the sounds coming from the bundle attached to the man's chest. She watched in stunned silence as he reached in and came out with a baby, who he promptly started rocking. She was still staring when Max left her room, saying 'OC who was at the...' Alec looked up at Max, and smiled.

'Uh, boo, this boy says he knows ya. Is that a baby?' The last bit was aimed at Alec, and he looked at Max, who shrugged.

'Yeah, she's a baby. Max, wanna take over here, I have to feed Cat.'

'Sure. Wait, how are you gonna feed her?' Alec grinned, and he slipped off a bag she hadn't noticed before.

'Cat and I made a pit stop, did some shopping. I knew selling vitamins and cigars would come in handy one day.' She laughed and shook her head.

'Uh, kitchen's right there, go for it.' He moved around OC and into the kitchen. Max took her roommate's hand and pulled her into her room. As soon as the door was closed, OC took her hand back and crossed her arms, looking pointedly at Max.

'Ok, boo. Spill. What's with pretty boy out there, and that little girl? I thought you said you was at Manticore for the past 9 months?'

'Yeah, I was. Alec was my CO. I met him about 3 months into being there, the night before they put me in his unit. That was a weird night, let me tell you. He's uh, he's the twin of one of my brothers, Ben. Who was also there, by the way. I thought he was messing with me when he told me that, cause I thought Ben was dead.'

'That still don't tell OC why he's here now, and with a baby.'

'Oh, yeah that. Well, the reason I met him that night was cause he was assigned as my breeding partner...'

'You're WHAT? You mean that girls is...?'

'Yeah, she's mine but it's not what you think. I mean, I was never pregnant, we never did that, at least...' Max trailed off as she realised what she was saying.

'At least what? You've slept with him, haven't you?'

'Well... yeah, but it was only, like, 2 weeks ago. It was actually the night we found out about Cat. A couple of the girls in my unit were actually pregnant, and they used to sneak down to see their babies, and one day it clicked where the extra baby was from. The psycho director, Renfro, apparently wanted Alec and me to have a baby so bad that she just went right ahead and made one herself. So that's basically everything.

'She just made a baby herself? Girl, I need to sit down.' She sat on the bed next to Max, and the apartment was silent for a few minutes, until the sound of crying jolted Max out of her thoughts. She hopped up and raced out the door. She was next to Alec in an instant, who was trying to comfort Cat. He turned to her, and she saw a hint of panic in his eyes. She held out her arms, and he transferred Cat to her, and she gently started rocking. OC came out of the room and saw her boo rocking their baby, Alec stood behind her, and arm around her shoulder. It was a strange sight, to say the least; if anyone had told her yesterday that Max was gonna suddenly reappear, let alone with a boy and baby in tow, she would've called them crazy and smacked them up the head. But here they were, and she was watching them with her own eyes. Then she smiled as she had a thought. Max looked up and caught the smile.

'What?'

'I'm an aunty.' Max smiled and Alec looked confused.

'Correct me if I'm wrong, but aunties and uncles usually brothers or sisters of the parents?' He asked.

'Traditionally, but we're not exactly traditional, are we? You aren't gonna tell me you're not gonna call everyone in our unit this baby's aunt or uncle, are you? Just like we're Cece and Biggs' baby's aunt and uncle, and Gem and Blade's, and Ariel and Steve's.'

'Alright. That Normal dude's not gonna be an uncle though, is he? Cause he sounds kinda weird.' Max and OC looked at each other, horrified.

'No way!' Max said loudly, not yelling so that she wouldn't wake Cat. 'But speaking of Normal, do you think he'd give me my job back? And give Alec one?'

'Just bring this little one in and I'm sure he'll say yes. One of the guy's girlfriends came in a few weeks ago with her baby, he went nuts over the little thing.'

'Hey Max, before I forget, I told the guys that we'd meet them on the Space Needle at midnight.'

'Ok. I'm gonna go put Cat down, I'll be right back.' She left the kitchen, and closed the door to her room, leaving Alec and OC standing around. Alec looked at her, and was about to say something, but the look on her face warned him off that idea. She came into the kitchen and cornered him. To his credit, he kept a straight face, despite being fairly concerned.

'You better treat her right, you hear me? She's been through enough, she doesn't need you skipping out on her and that baby. If I hear you've been bad to her, screwing around, or anything similar, well, let's just say that you won't be able to screw around much longer after that.'

'Hey, no offence, cause I know how much you mean to Max, but you don't know me yet. I would never walk out on Max, or Cat. Even if I wanted to, do you really think she'd let me get far? Not to mention the rest of the unit. They'd skin me alive. Trust me, I'm not going anywhere.' When she just stared at him, he began to get a little unnerved, but he held his ground until they heard the door open again. OC nodded slightly, and moved back.

'Hey, I'm kinda hungry considering we blew up Manticore before dinner, there any food here?' Max said as she came out, unaware of what was happening in the kitchen. OC turned to her, and shook her head.

'Haven't gone shopping in a few days, there isn't much.'

'That's cool. Um, can you watch Cat for us? Alec and I'll go get some food.' OC nodded, and Alec followed Max out the door, with one last look at the closed bedroom door where Cat was sleeping.

'She's safe, Alec. Come on, we have a long night ahead of us.'

Two hours later, Alec pulled up at the base of the space needle, Max not far behind him on her own ninja. He waited while she pulled up next to him, then they headed up together. Max had the sleeping Cat strapped to her this time, and Alec kept peeking over to see how she was. Max couldn't help but smile at the sight; it was strange to see how different he was from the man she thought he was the day he walked into her cell. He was still cocky as hell, with an ego big enough for at least three people, but she'd gotten in, and so, apparently, had Cat. When they reached the top, Max was surprised to see they were the last ones there. She spotted Cece, Ariel and Gem to one side, surrounded by the other girls, and Max was quickly beckoned over to join them, while Alec made his way to the other side, to join the men.

'So how's it like being back in the city as just Max again?' Cece asked, and Max laughed as she shook her head.

'This is definitely not how I planned to make me reappearance, with a whole new load of friends, a guy and a baby to top it off. But it's great. OC's just as I left her, and I'm sure everyone else will be too. What about you guys, where are you all crashing?'

'Surprisingly the guys managed to find a couple of apartments, we'll spread out through them until we all get our own permanent places, and jobs.'

'Well, if all else fails on the job front, there's always Jam Pony. Just come in with the babies, Normal won't be able to resist. That's how I plan on getting my job back tomorrow, not to mention getting Alec one.'

Alec was watching Max talking to the women, with one ear on the conversation going on around him. He turned back when Biggs asked him a question.

'Oh, uh, we're gonna crash with Max's old roommate, at least for a while. And that way, there should always be someone with Cat. We're going to her work tomorrow, she's apparently gonna charm her way back into a job, and get me one too.' He answered with a smile.

The night wore on, and Alec realised everyone was getting tired.

'I think it's time to head home, guys. We've all got a lot to do, the next few days. Our lives start tomorrow.'

Everyone else headed out on foot, walking in pairs or fours so they wouldn't draw attention to themselves. Alec and Max were the last to leave, and the only ones not walking. They hopped on their bikes, and headed off down the street, over taking Ben and Sash who were walking, and coming up on Biggs and Cece. The others were further ahead, most gone around corner and now out of sight. Their friends laughed as Max and Alec mock raced each other down the deserted road. They were being carefree and spontaneous, but what happened next happened so quickly they barely had time to register it was happening.

Alec zipped around Max, speeding up ahead of her, picking up a little more speed, when he simultaneously heard and felt a pop. More than a pop, really; more of a bang. And a second after the bang, his bike began to spin out of control. His training told him not to slam on the breaks, but he tried to gain control of the bike, which failed. It continued spinning, and there was nothing he could do as the wall came closer, except brace himself against the crunch of metal and bone on brick.

Max felt Alec zip around her, and speed up before she saw him ahead of her. She grinned, and bided her time to overtake him again, and as she watched she saw him pick up speed, and before she knew what was happening, there was a bang, and she skidded to a stop as she watched his bike spin out of control.

Time seemed to slow down as she watched him spinning towards the wall, saw the moment when he stopped trying to stop it, and simply prepared himself for the crash. Watched the impact, heard but didn't quite register, the sound of metal on brick. And stood, almost mesmerised, as she saw the explosion. As the flames died down, she saw the movement, and started forward, unaware that she was now crying. She faltered as she watched Alec stagger to his feet, unsteady, covered in blood and burns, part of his jacket still with flames.

Time stood still as she watched him take a few steps towards her, before he stumbled and fell to his knees. His head came up, and through the smoke and flames, she saw his eyes; the beautiful hazel eyes she loved so much. And she felt a pain tear through her as she saw only pain in them, and she fell to her knees as she watched the light fade from them, as he fell backwards, away from her, away from Cat.

She knelt on the ground, curled into herself, arms around the bundle she held, crying alone, for what seemed like an eternity, but which was only a minute, before Biggs' strong arms came around her, holding her, tears escaping his eyes as he watched his best friend fade away.

As she felt the arms come around her, to hold her, Max slowly became aware of her surroundings, and then everything came whooshing back; the heat of the still burning flames, the smell of gas, fire, scorched metal and event the faint smell of burning flesh reached her nose. But most of all it was the sound; the sound of pain that filled the air. In less than 5 minutes, Max was surrounded by unit 6, and she could feel their warmth, though it did nothing to ease the chill she felt. She could hear the soothing, but it was drowned out by the sounds of sorrow.

For they were already mourning the loss of him, of 494, their CO, of Alec, their friend, their leader, the one who was always there when they needed him. And now, they all felt as though they had failed him when he needed them. They were all so close, and yet they couldn't save him.

They had all heard the explosion, and part of them had reacted from years of training; find the source, determine the situation. But another part, a larger part, had reacted from the instinct in all of them that said one of their men was down. They had all known, some part of them, that it was him, but for each of them, seeing his now lifeless body on the ground, was a shock. But despite their urge to race to him, they had raced instead to the petite brunette hunched over in the middle of the road. And so Max was surrounded by her new family, her brothers and sisters, their children, her child. And without him.

A week later, Max sat in the front pew of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church. She was once again surrounded by the unit, with OC by her side, as she listened Father Destry speak.

The last week was pretty much a blur for Max. She vaguely remembered being taken home that night on her ninja, by Ben. She remembered coming home, OC greeting her and Ben, mistaking him for Alec, and she had broken down. She recalled a few snippets of the conversation that followed between Ben and OC as Ben explained what had happened. Mostly she remembered going into her room, and lying on her bed with Cat, breathing in the slight scent of Alec that had been left there from earlier, when they had come home with food and eaten it lying on her bed.

She remembered not leaving that bed for over four days. OC had fed, bathed and clothed Cat. Max had held her. She did have once very clear memory of the week, from three days earlier.

_'Max, they need us to go down, they need us to formally identify the body, and there are some personal items they think you should have.' Ben told her, after he'd forcibly dragged her out of bed and into a cold shower._

_'I can't go down there Ben, I can't see him that way.' She had told him determinedly._

_'So the last memory you want to have of Alec is of him dying? Of him covered in blood, and in pain?' He had asked, the situation making his temper rise. She had looked at him, stunned, then she had picked up her bag, and headed out the front door, after kissing Cat goodbye._

_Once they had arrived at the morgue, they were led in to view the body. She couldn't help but think that the last time she had been there, it had been to see who she thought was Ben, but wasn't. She wished she wasn't there, that she was home with Cat. But Ben was right; she didn't want to remember him that night. At least this way, she could remember him being peaceful, and not hurting._

_She almost broke down when she saw him, but she forced herself to look at him, remember his face, feature for feature. She'd been ok, until they had brought out his personal items._

_Considering the blast, there wasn't much. There were a few things from the baby bag he'd had on his back. A baby bottle, a tin of formula. And in a side pocket, somehow untouched by the blast, was a small black box. Inside was a small silver ring, with a pink heart diamond in the middle, with small clusters of diamonds either side. There had been a small note tucked in the top of the box; notes of ideas of proposals. Different settings, opening lines. And at the very bottom, underlined many times, were seven words that broke her heart; Wing it. She loves to hate surprises._

Now, sitting here with Cat on her knee, she wore the ring. A symbol of her love, a symbol of what he had fought for, for years; a symbol, and reminder, of him. She held Cat close to her, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. She had to remain strong here, for Cat, for her unit. She listened to Biggs, Sash and then Ben talk about him. She walked, mind elsewhere, to the cemetery. And when she was the only one left by his grave, she curled up against his grave stone, Cat in her arms, and let the tears fall.

'I love you, Alec.'

A/N: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll post MY ending in a couple of weeks.


	13. Chapter 13: Strange United Family Take2

Disclaimer: Not mine, none of it. Except the story line, and the original characters, but you get the idea.

A/N: Ok, here's the final chapter, take two. I think this will please you all much more than the last one. Like I said before, I will never listen to my friend again. Enjoy.

Chapter 12: Strange United Family, take two.

Alec pulled up in front of a derelict old building, and parked his bike. After he felt Max get off, he stood up and hopped off. He turned carefully, trying not to wake the now sleeping Cat.

'So, this is where you live, huh?' He asked, and she hit him playfully.

'Yes, this is where I live. Where _we_ live, at least for now. Uh, OC's probably asleep but I'm sure she won't mind if we wake her up.'

'From the sound of it, if she sees you she won't care what the hell you're doing. But, considering how long you've been gone, I think I should take Cat for a little tour of Seattle, come back in about half an hour?' Max looked relieved, and rose on her toes to give him a kiss.

'Thank you. You're the best.'

'I know, it's hard, but I...' He trailed off when her lips met his again.

'Alec?'

'Hmm?'

'Just take a ride.' He grinned down at her, then hopped back on his bike, kicked it into gear and sped off. Max watched him disappear down the street before she turned prepared to face her past.

When Max entered her old apartment, the first thing she saw was her baby sitting in the middle of the living room. She raced over, and couldn't help herself; she hugged it. And then she sat on it, and ran her hands over it. Then, after finding her key, she revved it a couple of times, and waited until she saw OC rush out from behind the curtain that separated her 'bedroom'.

'Did I wake you?' She smiled as OC looked at her, stunned. Then she rushed forward, and Max was enveloped in a crushing hug.

'Thank god you're alive.'

'Well, what can I say?' Max said when she was finally give a chance to breath. 'I don't kill easy, and I don't stay down for long when I'm hit.' They both laughed, and OC hugged her again.

'So spill, boo. Where the hell you been for 9 months?'

'Uh, how bout we sit down? It's a long story.'

Exactly 28 minutes later, Alec once again pulled up outside Max's building. He hopped off the bike, and, after checking Cat, headed inside, following the directions Max had given him. When he reached the floor, he looked around, and found the door. He knocked, and waited. The following 20 seconds were probably the most nerve wracking of his life; he knew he had Max, and that she loved him, but she seemed to put a lot in what OC thought, so he wanted to make a good impression. He was gently rocking a stirring Cat when the door swung open in front of him, and he was greeted by a small black women, with crazy hair and an annoyed look on her face.

'What?' Alec froze for a second; apparently Max hadn't gotten to him yet.

'Uh... I'm here to see Max, she's expecting me.' He saw the scepticism on the woman's face, OC's face he guessed. 'Uh, you're Original Cindy, right?'

'Aiight, I'll give you that. But my boo just got back from a 9 month vacation, so how is it she's expecting someone?'

'Uh... I was with her on her vacation. I know she's here, just ask her, I swear she knows me. My name's Alec, by the way.'

'Fine, come in. She's in the bathroom, she'll be out in a minute anyway. Do you want...' she was cut off by the sounds coming from the bundle attached to the man's chest. She watched in stunned silence as he reached in and came out with a baby, who he promptly started rocking. She was still staring when Max left her room, saying 'OC who was at the...' Alec looked up at Max, and smiled.

'Uh, boo, this boy says he knows ya. Is that a baby?' The last bit was aimed at Alec, and he looked at Max, who shrugged.

'Yeah, she's a baby. Max, wanna take over here, I have to feed Cat.'

'Sure. Wait, how are you gonna feed her?' Alec grinned, and he slipped off a bag she hadn't noticed before.

'Cat and I made a pit stop, did some shopping. I knew selling vitamins and cigars would come in handy one day.' She laughed and shook her head.

'Uh, kitchen's right there, go for it.' He moved around OC and into the kitchen. Max took her roommate's hand and pulled her into her room. As soon as the door was closed, OC took her hand back and crossed her arms, looking pointedly at Max.

'Ok, boo. Spill. What's with pretty boy out there, and that little girl? I thought you said you was at Manticore for the past 9 months?'

'Yeah, I was. Alec was my CO. I met him about 3 months into being there, the night before they put me in his unit. That was a weird night, let me tell you. He's uh, he's the twin of one of my brothers, Ben. Who was also there, by the way. I thought he was messing with me when he told me that, cause I thought Ben was dead.'

'That still don't tell OC why he's here now, and with a baby.'

'Oh, yeah that. Well, the reason I met him that night was cause he was assigned as my breeding partner...'

'You're WHAT? You mean that girl is...?'

'Yeah, she's mine but it's not what you think. I mean, I was never pregnant, we never did that, at least...' Max trailed off as she realised what she was saying.

'At least what? You've slept with him, haven't you?'

'Well... yeah, but it was only, like, 2 weeks ago. It was actually the night we found out about Cat. A couple of the girls in my unit were actually pregnant, and they used to sneak down to see their babies, and one day it clicked where the extra baby was from. The psycho director, Renfro, apparently wanted Alec and me to have a baby so bad that she just went right ahead and made one herself. So that's basically everything.

'She just made a baby herself? Girl, I need to sit down.' She sat on the bed next to Max, and the apartment was silent for a few minutes, until the sound of crying jolted Max out of her thoughts. She hopped up and raced out the door. She was next to Alec in an instant, who was trying to comfort Cat. He turned to her, and she saw a hint of panic in his eyes. She held out her arms, and he transferred Cat to her, and she gently started rocking. OC came out of the room and saw her boo rocking their baby, Alec stood behind her, and arm around her shoulder. It was a strange sight, to say the least; if anyone had told her yesterday that Max was gonna suddenly reappear, let alone with a boy and baby in tow, she would've called them crazy and smacked them up the head. But here they were, and she was watching them with her own eyes. Then she smiled as she had a thought. Max looked up and caught the smile.

'What?'

'I'm an aunty.' Max smiled and Alec looked confused.

'Correct me if I'm wrong, but aunties and uncles usually brothers or sisters of the parents?' He asked.

'Traditionally, but we're not exactly traditional, are we? You aren't gonna tell me you're not gonna call everyone in our unit this baby's aunt or uncle, are you? Just like we're Cece and Biggs' baby's aunt and uncle, and Gem and Blade's, and Ariel and Steve's.'

'Alright. That Normal dude's not gonna be an uncle though, is he? Cause he sounds kinda weird.' Max and OC looked at each other, horrified.

'No way!' Max said loudly, not yelling so that she wouldn't wake Cat. 'But speaking of Normal, do you think he'd give me my job back? And give Alec one?'

'Just bring this little one in and I'm sure he'll say yes. One of the guy's girlfriends came in a few weeks ago with her baby, he went nuts over the little thing.'

'Hey Max, before I forget, I told the guys that we'd meet them on the Space Needle at midnight.'

'Ok. I'm gonna go put Cat down, I'll be right back.' She left the kitchen, and closed the door to her room, leaving Alec and OC standing around. Alec looked at her, and was about to say something, but the look on her face warned him off that idea. She came into the kitchen and cornered him. To his credit, he kept a straight face, despite being fairly concerned.

'You better treat her right, you hear me? She's been through enough, she doesn't need you skipping out on her and that baby. If I hear you've been bad to her, screwing around, or anything similar, well, let's just say that you won't be able to screw around much longer after that.'

'Hey, no offence, cause I know how much you mean to Max, but you don't know me yet. I would never walk out on Max, or Cat. Even if I wanted to, do you really think she'd let me get far? Not to mention the rest of the unit. They'd skin me alive. Trust me, I'm not going anywhere.' When she just stared at him, he began to get a little unnerved, but he held his ground until they heard the door open again. OC nodded slightly, and moved back.

'Hey, I'm kinda hungry considering we blew up Manticore before dinner, there any food here?' Max said as she came out, unaware of what was happening in the kitchen. OC turned to her, and shook her head.

'Haven't gone shopping in a few days, there isn't much.'

'That's cool. Um, can you watch Cat for us? Alec and I'll go get some food.' OC nodded, and Alec followed Max out the door, with one last look at the closed bedroom door where Cat was sleeping.

'She's safe, Alec. Come on, we have a long night ahead of us.'

Two hours later, Alec pulled up at the base of the space needle, Max not far behind him on her own ninja. He waited while she pulled up next to him, then they headed up together. Max had the sleeping Cat strapped to her this time, and Alec kept peeking over to see how she was. Max couldn't help but smile at the sight; it was strange to see how different he was from the man she thought he was the day he walked into her cell. He was still cocky as hell, with an ego big enough for at least three people, but she'd gotten in, and so, apparently, had Cat. When they reached the top, Max was surprised to see they were the last ones there. She spotted Cece, Ariel and Gem to one side, surrounded by the other girls, and Max was quickly beckoned over to join them, while Alec made his way to the other side, to join the men.

'So how's it like being back in the city as just Max again?' Cece asked, and Max laughed as she shook her head.

'This is definitely not how I planned to make me reappearance, with a whole new load of friends, a guy and a baby to top it off. But it's great. OC's just as I left her, and I'm sure everyone else will be too. What about you guys, where are you all crashing?'

'Surprisingly the guys managed to find a couple of apartments, we'll spread out through them until we all get our own permanent places, and jobs.'

'Well, if all else fails on the job front, there's always Jam Pony. Just come in with the babies, Normal won't be able to resist. That's how I plan on getting my job back tomorrow, not to mention getting Alec one.'

Alec was watching Max talking to the women, with one ear on the conversation going on around him. He turned back when Biggs asked him a question.

'Oh, uh, we're gonna crash with Max's old roommate, at least for a while. And that way, there should always be someone with Cat. We're going to her work tomorrow, she's apparently gonna charm her way back into a job, and get me one too.' He answered with a smile.

The night wore on, and Alec realised everyone was getting tired.

'I think it's time to head home, guys. We've all got a lot to do, the next few days. Our lives start tomorrow.'

Max hopped onto her Ninja, settled Cat in the sling. Alec hopped onto his green bike next to her, and was about to start it up, when he heard Biggs call his name. He turned and faced his friend.

'Yeah?'

'Your tire's almost bald, man. I wouldn't ride that if I were you.' Alec looked down and saw that Biggs was right.

'Ah crap. Guess I'll leave it here tonight.' He got off his bike and moved it into the base of the Space Needle. Then he came back out and hopped on behind Max on her Ninja. Everyone else had left, so it was just the three of them and Biggs and Cece. 'Thanks man. That could've blown at any time, god knows what would've happened.' They grinned, then Max gunned the engine and they were off down the street. Max drove them home, and she smiled as she felt Alec's arms come around her, and Cat, and hold onto them.

They got her bike back into the apartment quietly, then they settled into bed, with Cat between lying between them.

'I still can't believe we did it, that we're really free of that place. It doesn't quite seem real, you know?' Max said softly, so she wouldn't wake Cat.

'I know what you mean. It hasn't quite sunk in for me yet either.' He flashed her a smile, and then leant over to kiss her forehead. She gave him a small smile, and he pulled back, worry in his eyes. 'What's on your mind?'

'Nothing...' she started, but stopped when he looked at her pointedly. 'I guess I'm just scared I'm gonna wake up tomorrow and be back there, and this'll all just be a dream. I don't wanna lose Cat, or you.' He smiled and took her hand, and placed them both behind Cat's head, his thumb stroking her dark hair.

'Mm... I hate to break it to you, but I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Cat.' Max smiled, and reached her other hand out to his face.

'I'm gonna hold you to that, Alec. Cause if you ever leave me, I'll hunt you down,' he smiled as she spoke, 'and kick your ass.' His smile faded a bit at this, and hers grew.

'I'm hurt, Maxie, that you would ever consider kicking my ass.' She kicked out at him playfully. His voice was soft when he spoke again. 'Or that you would consider it even a remote possibility that I would leave you. It'll never even be a possibility as a thought. Trust me.'

'I do.'

Two days later, Alec was riding through a rick part of the city, when something caught his eye in the window of a shop. He pulled up next to the window, and looked at the ring. It had a thin silver band, with a pink diamond in the middle, in the shape of a heart. There were small diamond clusters on either side. He stared at it for almost ten minutes, until he realised the person on the other side of the window was glaring at him. He got back on his bike and rode off, to finish delivering packages. He went back to Max's apartment, and managed to get in and out without her knowing he was there. Although, the fact that she was in the shower and Cat was asleep also helped.

When he got back from work at 7:30, he found Max and Cat asleep on the couch. He smiled at the sight, and put the takeout he'd bought on the kitchen bench. He went into the bedroom, and changed. When he came back out, he found Max standing in the kitchen, plates in hand and a big grin on her face.

'Hey you.'

'Hey. I saw you found dinner. I didn't wake you, did I?' She shook her head and tapped her nose. 'Ah, should've known. So, how was your day?'

'Pretty good. Cat was very well behaved. Have you noticed that she hardly cries at all?' Alec's face grew grim, and he looked at their sleeping daughter. He nodded in response to the question.

'It's left over from Manticore. She's not the only one. Biggs said Amy has only cried twice since we got here, Derek too, according to Steve. I can't say for sure about Anthony, cause I haven't had time to catch up with Gem or Blade, but I'll bet you it's the same thing for him. Manticore wouldn't have wanted them screaming and crying all the time; they started training us from birth, I imagine it would've been the same thing for them.' He caught the look on Max's face. 'No, no, no, that's not what I meant. Just that they would've been training them to be obedient. Max, she's fine. Remember, they checked her completely before we got to the pickup spot. There was nothing wrong with her. And she's too young to remember, even for a transgenic. Don't worry about it.' He pulled her into a tight hug. 'She won't go through what we did, we made sure of that.'

He relaxed his hold on her when he felt her calm down, and he pulled her back to look at her. He grinned as she wiped a few stray tears off her cheeks, and she hit him.

'Don't make fun of me. I'm not the one who freaked out the other day when she did start crying, cause I thought someone was doing something to her.' It was her turn to laugh now as glared at her.

'Shut up. Biggs told me Cece did the exact same thing the other day when Amy first cried.' She leant up and gave him a quick kiss, but before he could deepen it, she had ducked away and was back at the food, taking it out of the bags, and putting it on plates. She and Alec both tensed slightly at the same time and looked towards Cat. Alec motioned for her to keep serving as he left the kitchen. 'I'll get her.'

Like she did every time she saw them together, Max smiled at the sight of Alec holding Cat gently in his arms. And she wished she had a camera as she watched him feed her; she loved the look of slight panic he still got every time he held her, almost as if he was afraid that he would drop. She loved the way he held her; like she was the most precious thing in the world, and he would never let anything happen to her. Which she supposed she was to him, just like she was to her.

Alec looked up and caught Max smiling at him, and he smiled back as she made her way over to them on the couch, plates in hand. And the small family sat together and ate.

Biggs was watching Alec as he muttered to himself in the corner of Jam Pony. He'd been watching him for nearly 5 minutes now, and found it quite amusing. He was pacing slightly, all of three feet back and forth, and seemed to be debating something with himself. From where he was standing, he'd only been able to pick up a few words; 'Max', 'surprise', 'hate', and 'so what'. Needless to say it confused the hell out of him. But he figured enough to realise that when Max came up to him looking for Alec, he spoke loudly, and when that failed to get Alec's attention, sent her in the wrong direction.

It was a sign of how preoccupied Alec was when he didn't hear Biggs come up behind him, especially since he was deliberately making lots of noise. He flinched slightly when Biggs tapped his shoulder.

'What?' he asked, hoping Biggs hadn't heard what he had been saying.

'Nothing, nothing. Max is looking for you. I sent her over to the TV, but it won't take her long to realise you're not there.'

'Oh, thanks.'

'No problem. So, before she gets here, what were you doing?' Biggs couldn't hide the grin that covered his face when Alec blushed and ducked his head.

'Nothing. So, I'm gonna go find Max. See ya.' Biggs was still grinning when Alec disappeared around the corner. He was pretty sure what Alec was doing, considering he was planning the same thing with Cece. He silently wished him luck, and headed off to do his deliveries.

'Hey Max, Biggs told me you were looking for me.'

'Oh, yeah, I was. Cece wanted to know if we were going to Crash later.'

'Oh, yeah. Sure. Uh, later though. Meet me at the space needle at 7:00?'

'Sure, why?'

'Just cause. Meet me?'

'Ok. I just wanna stop by and see Cat first...'

'No, just come straight there. It won't take long, we can stop by and see Cat and OC before we go to Crash.' She looked uncertain. 'Come on, I promise it won't take long.'

'Fine, I'll be there at 7:00.'

Just after 6:30, Max entered her apartment to find OC on the couch reading. She looked up and saw Max, and smirked.

'Ya boy said you'd turn up. He's got Cat, he left this for you.' OC said, holding out a piece of paper. Max took it and read.

_Max,_

_Knew you wouldn't be able to resist. But I've got her, so you just wasted your time. So hurry up and get that but of yours over to the Space Needle. We're waiting._

_Alec_

She smiled and rolled her eyes at the same time, before she said bye to OC and left the apartment.

20 minutes later she pulled up at the base of the Space Needle and left her bike next to Alec's. She made her way to the top quickly, and found Alec just outside the window, holding Cat in his arms, showing her the city.

'Hey,' he spun at her voice and smiled.

'Hey, Maxie.'

'So, what was so important that I was supposed to come here straight from work without seeing Cat first?'

'Uh, give me a minute will you. Here, finish showing Cat the sights. We got to Terminal City.' He transferred the small girl into her arms, then disappeared through the window behind them. She watched him for a few seconds, then shook her head as she turned back to look at the city, and after locating Terminal City, continued showing her the sights.

When Alec came back out a few minutes later, she was talking about their apartment, where they lived with OC. He watched them for a minute, before he cleared his throat. Max turned, a smile on her lips as she looked at him.

'So, you got me up here, what now?' She asked teasingly. He cleared his throat again, and it was then that she picked up on how nervous he was. He smiled fell, turning into a slight frown. 'Alec, what's going on? What's wrong?'

'Wrong? Nothing's wrong, nothing at all. Actually, that's kinda the point. Everything's perfect, Cat's perfect, you're perfect...'

'Everything's perfect, I get it. What does that have to do with us being up the Space Needle?'

'Right. Well, we're at the Space Needle cause I know it's a special place for you, and all that. Shit,' he muttered to himself, 'this is not good.' He started pacing, trying to clear his head. Max watched him, waiting for him to get himself together. She tried to think if she'd ever seen him this nervous, and could only think back to the first time he'd held Cat, but even then he'd been pretty sure of himself. Finally he stopped, and turned to her. 'I'm just gonna do this.'

'Uh... good?' She asked with a laugh, which died off as she noted his serious face.

'Do you know that ever since that day I first walked into your cell, I haven't been able to get you off my mind? You're the most loving, beautiful, carefree, self assured person I've ever met, and that doesn't even begin to cover you, or how I feel about. You know I love you, and I know you love me, and we both love Cat. We're a family, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, I wanna make it official.' She watched in stunned silence as he revealed a small box in his hand. He flipped it open, but she was still watching him. 'Max, will you marry me?' It was only then that she looked down and saw the ring; a thin sliver band with a pink, heart shaped diamond in the middle, small clusters of diamonds either side. She looked at Cat, then back at Alec before she held out her hand. He looked puzzled for a minute, his brows creased in confusion before he plucked the ring out of its box and slid it into her finger. It fit perfectly, and she laced their fingers, pulling him into a kiss, careful not to crush their daughter between them. When they pulled apart, he looked down, mischief in his eyes.

'Can I take that as a yes? Cause you know, Maxie, you didn't really answer the quest...'

'Shut up, smart Alec.' She told him before she kissed him again. 'Of course that's a yes.' She murmured against his lips, and he let his forehead rest against hers.

'Thank god.' There was a silence between the small family for a few minutes, before Alec spoke again. 'So, on a scale of one to ten, how corny did I sound?'

A month later, Alec was standing at the end of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, fidgeting with his suit. Once again, Ben's hand snaked out quickly and hit him on the back of the head. He turned, a disgruntled look on his face.

'What?' He asked softly.

'Would you stop fidgeting? You're making me nervous, and it's not even my wedding.'

'Sorry' he said sarcastically, and looked back at Father Destry, who was watching the two with interest. It was hard to reconcile the two men in front of him, especially the best man, with the man who had attacked him a little over a year ago. 'Father, do you know what's taking...' he trailed off when the music started, and his eyes moved to the doors at the end of the church. He watched as first Honey made her way down the aisle in a simple blue dress, holding Cat who was the flower girl/ring bearer. They were followed by Cece, Sash and OC, all in blue. Finally, everyone stood, and Alec watched as Max came down the aisle, accompanied by... Sketchy? That was weird. But he soon forgot Sketchy as his moved over Max, in a floor length white gown, it was simple, but traditional. And she looked gorgeous. Once again he wondered how he'd gotten so lucky. Then she was beside him, and he ignored those thoughts, and just thanked god he had her.

The ceremony seemed to fly for the couple, and the next thing they knew, they were being pronounced husband and wife. Alec lifted her veil, and kissed as the church filled with clapping and cheering. Honey stood and passed Cat to Max, and they kissed again, over Cat.

'I have a surprise for the two of you,' Max whispered to Alec, as they were still in their own little bubble. One of his eyebrows rose, and she nodded. 'In about 7 months, Cat's gonna have a little brother or sister.' She watched as his other brow rose to join the other, and his eyes widened in shock. She smiled and pulled him in for another kiss. When they pulled apart, he was finally able to speak.

'Guess we definitely need to find another apartment then.' He said cheekily, and she had to restrain herself from reaching out to smack him.

'Smart Alec.'

'Damn straight.'

'My smart Alec.'

'Sounds pretty good to me, Maxie.' And in front of their friends and family, he kissed her again, and again, and again.

A/N: Do I have approval this time? No death threats?? Lol. Thank you for reading, and sticking by me the whole time. Look out for my other stories. I'll be starting the sequel to Freedom soon, as well as continuing with Bickering Leads To and Learning From Past Mistakes (OTH).


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